Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Richard Deare Furley Oldman (31 June 1877 – 1943) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer.

Military career

Educated at Haileybury, Oldman was commissioned into the

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

on 20 February 1897. He saw action in operations in Northern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

in 1903 and 1904 for which he was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...

on the Western Front in 1915, commander of 117th Infantry Brigade on the Western Front in 1916 and commander of 15th Infantry Brigade on the Western Front in November 1917. He was wounded in May 1918 and gassed in June 1918. After the war he became commander of 2nd Infantry Brigade in August 1919, commander of 6th Infantry Brigade in October 1926 and General Officer Commanding

47th (2nd London) Division The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Res ...

in January 1931 before retiring in December 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldman, Richard 1877 births 1943 deaths Royal Norfolk Regiment officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army generals of World War I People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College British Army major generals