General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Torquhil George Matheson, 5th Baronet, (4 February 1871 − 13 November 1963) was a Scottish officer who commanded three different divisions of 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 some of the heaviest fighting of 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 ...

. He had previously served in the militia and with the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in 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 ...

. For his service, he was knighted in 1921 and in 1944 he inherited the Matheson baronetcy from his brother Roderick.

Early life and family

Torquhil Matheson was born on 4 February 1871, the youngest child of

Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet, JP, DL (16 January 1805 – 26 July 1886) was a British China merchant, Liberal Member of Parliament, and railway entrepreneur. Life and career The son of John Matheson Esq of Ardross and Attadale, R ...

, and was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He inherited the baronetcy in 1944 when his four older brothers (including the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Baronets) predeceased him and three nephews (the 3rd Baronet's only sons) were all

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

in the

. In 1900 Matheson married Ella Louisa Linton. They divorced in 1923. He then married Lady Elizabeth Mary Gertrude Lucia Sophia Keppel, the youngest child of Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle. They had two sons: *Major Sir Torquhil Alexander Matheson of Matheson, 6th Bt. (15 August 1925 – 9 April 1993) *Major Sir Fergus John Matheson of Matheson, 7th Bt. (22 February 1927 – 2017)

Military career

Destined for a career in the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

, Matheson was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 4th (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment (later the

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

) on 15 December 1888. On 2 June 1894, Matheson transferred from the Bedfordshires, in which he was then a

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 ...

, to the

as a second lieutenant again, and was promoted lieutenant in that regiment on 1 December 1897. He served in the

, as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards from 1899 until May 1902. The battalion took part in the battles of Belmont (23 November 1899), Enslin,

Modder River The Modder River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Riet River that forms part of the border between the Northern Cape and the Free State provinces. The river's banks were the scenes of heavy fighting in the beginning of the ...

(28 November 1899) and

Magersfontein The MagersfonteinMisspelt "Maaghersfontein" in some British texts ( ) battlefield is a site of the Battle of Magersfontein (11 December 1899), part of the Second Boer War in South Africa. The battlefield is located at south of Kimberley, Norther ...

(11 December 1899), and 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 ...

, and promoted 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 20 April 1901. Following the end of the war, Matheson left Cape Town in the SS ''Carisbrook Castle'' in September 1902, arriving at Southampton early the following month. He was appointed regimental adjutant to the Coldstream Guards on 1 January 1903. At the outbreak of the

in August 1914, Matheson went with his regiment to France and fought in several actions, being promoted to the

brevet rank In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

of lieutenant colonel in February 1915 and taking command of the 3rd Battalion. In July 1915, Matheson was advanced to the temporary rank of brigadier general and placed in command of the 46th Brigade, part of the

15th (Scottish) Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served in the First World War. The 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army, and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Wes ...

. His brevet rank was advanced to colonel in January 1917, and shortly afterwards was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class. He remained commanding the 46th Brigade until March 1917, when he was promoted to major general and was made

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

20th (Light) Division The 20th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, raised in the First World War. The division was formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division landed in France July 1915 an ...

. In August, shortly before the division was due to deploy in the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

, Matheson was severely affected by a German gas barrage that struck his headquarters, forcing him to relinquish control of the division. In September, now presumably recovered, he was promoted once again to temporary major general (having reverted to brevet colonel upon leaving his old division) and took over the

4th Division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army * 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy * 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy *4th Canadian Division *4th Division (Australia) * 4th ...

, remaining in this position until September 1918, when he was replaced by Major General

Louis Lipsett Major-General Louis James Lipsett (14 June 1874 – 14 October 1918), was a senior officer in the British Army and Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He commanded the 3rd Canadian Division during some of the bitterest ...

and took charge of the

Guards Division The Guards Division was an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing tw ...

, which he led for the final months of the war until the

armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

in November 1918, which ended hostilities. In January 1918, Matheson was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

and the following year was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and appointed 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 III ...

on relinquishing command of the Guards Division, which also saw him relinquish his temporary rank of major general and revert to brevet colonel. He was, however, granted his major general's rank, now made permanent, in June and in January 1920 was given a temporary appointment in the command of a division. In 1922, he was advanced to Knight Commander of the

"for valuable services rendered in the Field with the

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

Force", and commanded the 7th Guards Brigade and then the 7th Infantry Division. He then became GOC of the

54th (East Anglian) Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division f ...

, a Territorial Army (TA) formation, in February 1927. He was promoted to lieutenant general in June 1930. He gave up this appointment in September of that year, and, on 30 June 1931, Matheson was appointed to his last command, as general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) Western Command, India. On 30 June 1935 he retired from that post as a

full general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. ...

, having been promoted to that rank in July 1934. On 2 July he was gazetted to the Retired List. In 1944 succeeded he to his grandfather's baronetcy on the death of his elder brother Roderick. He himself died in November 1963, at the age of 92.

References

Bibliography

* * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Torquhil 1871 births 1963 deaths Hertfordshire Militia officers British Army generals Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers British Army generals of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Coldstream Guards officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College Military personnel from the City of Westminster Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class