Major General Thomas Tait Pitman, (22 December 1868 – 8 March 1941) was a British

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

officer, who was a general officer during the

First World War 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 ...

Personal life

Thomas Tait Pitman was born on 22 December 1868, the son of Frederick Pitman,

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of documen ...

, Edinburgh. He was one of eight brothers, including Frederick Islay Pitman and Charles Murray Pitman. In 1920 he married Violet Mary, only daughter of Sir Michael Lakin, 1st Baronet. He died on 8 March 1941.

Military career

Pitman entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1889 and served with the

11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

for 26 years. He was commissioned a second lieutenant on 9 October 1889, was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 6 April 1891, and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 16 April 1895. Seeing service in the North West Frontier campaign 1897–98, he then served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, where he was second-in-command of the 5th battalion of the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

. For his service he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

(dated 1 June 1902, where he is commended for good service at Brakspruit on 11 April 1902). After the end of the war in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in the SS ''Plassy'' in August, returning to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

the following month. On his return he resigned from the Imperial Yeomanry and returned to his regiment. By the outbreak of the

, Pitman was a lieutenant-colonel commanding the 11th Hussars and took them to the Western Front in August 1914. He was wounded at the

Battle of Messines (1914) The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German Empire against the British Empire and France, as part of what came to be called the Race to the Sea: reciprocal attempts by the German and Entente armies to attac ...

. Later, after being promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general in May 1915, he succeeded

Cecil Bingham Major-General Sir Cecil Edward Bingham (7 December 1861 – 31 May 1934) was a British Army officer who held high command during World War I. Military career Born the son of Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan,''Burke's Peerage and Baronet ...

in command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade (1915–16) and the 2nd Cavalry Division (1918–19). He was promoted to substantive colonel in September 1916. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

he then became GOC

48th (South Midland) Division The 48th (South Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as th ...

in April 1926 before retiring from the army in April 1930. Pitman 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 ...

(CB) in 1915 and a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in 1918 and was

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 ...

six times. He was honorary colonel of the 11th Hussars from 17 February 1926 to 9 October 1939.

References

Bibliography

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitman, Thomas 1868 births 1941 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army cavalry generals of World War I 11th Hussars officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath