Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Thomas William Corbett, (2 June 1888 – 30 December 1981) was a

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

officer who commanded the

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and military career

Corbett attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

and was commissioned onto the Unattached List for the

on 19 January 1907. Posted to India, he was attached to the 1st Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

on 15 March 1907 for a year. He was admitted to the Indian Army 15 March 1908 and joined

9th Hodson's Horse 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) is a part of the Indian Army Armoured Corps, Armoured Corps of the Indian Army, which had its beginnings as an irregular cavalry regiment during the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Formation The regiment was ra ...

. Following the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

,Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> Corbett landed in France on 7 November 1914 and was wounded on 21 December.Cardew, Major F. G., O.B.E., Hodson's Horse 1857–1922 He became staff captain of the

3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade The Ambala Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 1st India ...

on 4 April 1916,Quarterly Army List for quarter ending 31 March 1922

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

for the 1st Cavalry Brigade on 8 June 1917, and brigade major for the Ambala Brigade on 23 February 1918. He served in France until 31 March 1918, when he transferred to serve in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 3 June 1918. He was wounded on 23 May while leading a trench raid, for which he was later awarded a Bar to his Military Cross. The bar's citation reads: Corbett was also

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

twice. He went on to be brigade major for the 160th Brigade,

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

on 2 August 1918.

Between the wars

After the war Corbett became Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General for 4th Cavalry Division of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from 7 August 1919 to 31 August 1920.Indian Army List Supplement 1941 Corbett attended

Staff College, Quetta The Command and Staff College Quetta is a staff college for the Pakistan Armed Forces and military officers from allied countries. Established in 1905 as Staff College, Deolali, it was later shifted to its present location in 1907 and has been a ...

in 1921–22 and was appointed a general staff officer grade 2 on the General Staff, Southern Command, India from 15 February 1922 until 28 August 1925. He was again appointed a general staff officer grade 2 as staff officer to Major-General Cavalry from 26 September 1925 to 4 December 1926. Corbett was appointed a general staff officer grade 2 and instructor at the Staff College, Quetta from 14 January 1930 to 31 August 1932, and transferred to 2nd Lancers on 12 May 1930. He served as commanding officer of 2nd Lancers from 31 October 1933 to 7 April 1935. He was subsequently appointed to the post of assistant adjutant and quartermaster general from 8 April 1935 to 5 September 1935. He served as a general staff officer grade 1 and instructor at the Staff College, Quetta from 6 September 1935 to 27 June 1938 and as commander of the Sialkot Brigade from 2 August 1938 to 28 January 1940.Generals.dk
/ref>

Second World War

Corbett served in the

as a brigadier responsible for the cavalry at Army Headquarters, India and then as Inspector of Cavalry Army Headquarters India from 29 January 1940 to 31 August 1940, before becoming

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the 1st Indian Armoured Division on 1 September (later known as

31st Indian Armoured Division The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it was ...

). He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in January 1941. He went on to be commander of

from January to March 1942 in Iraq, before being appointed chief of staff in the Middle East later that year. Corbett, despite being recommended for command of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

Claude Auchinleck Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck ( ) (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his militar ...

, was instead dismissed in the so-called 'Cairo purge' in August 1942. He was then GOC of the

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry Division (military), division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major-ge ...

in India from 23 October 1942 until July 1943, when he handed command over to

Frank Messervy General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army from August 194 ...

before retiring as a major general 23 October 1943. The reason for his sudden removal from his division was, apparently, a security lapse which "brought down on his head the wrath of Higher Command." By October 1945 Corbett had been re-employed as head of the Combined Inter Services Historical Section (India) while on the Indian Regular Reserve of Officers.October 1945 Indian Army List

Postwar years

After retiring from the army Corbett, listing his recreation as painting, eventually settled in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and remarried in 1952 after the death of his first wife. How he spent the remaining years of his long life is not known although

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

described him as a "brave, modest and kindly man."

References

Bibliography

External links

The Papers of Lieutenant-General Thomas Corbett
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

, Cambridge
Generals of World War II
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Thomas 1888 births 1980 deaths Academics of the Staff College, Quetta Indian Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta British Indian Army generals