William Lambton (British Army officer)
Sir William Lambton | |
|---|---|
.png) In The Sketch, 27 December 1899 | |
| Born | 4 December 1863 |
| Died | 11 October 1936 (aged 72) Cap-d'Ail, France |
| Buried | St. Barnabas' Church, Bournmoor, Durham, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Service years | 1884–1920 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit | Coldstream Guards |
| Commands | 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards 4th Division |
| Conflicts | Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Sir William Lambton, KCB, CMG, CVO, DSO (4 December 1863 – 11 October 1936) was a British Army officer who commanded the 4th Division during the First World War.
Military career
Born the son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham, he was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.[2]
Lambton was commissioned a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards on 6 February 1884,[3][4] promoted to captain on 18 May 1892,[5] and became aide-de-camp to the governor-general of Ireland in August 1893,[6] before attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1897–1898.[7] After graduating, he was seconded in order to serve with the Egyptian Army[3][8] and took part in the Nile expedition of 1898 and fought at the Battle of Atbara and the Battle of Omdurman, and was promoted to major on 29 September 1898.[3][9][7]
Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, his battalion was sent to South Africa. As part of the Kimberley Relief Force, he was present at the Battle of Magersfontein on 10–11 December 1899, in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Lambton was mentioned in the despatch from Paul Methuen, who described the battle and how Lambton had refused to be carried off the battlefield despite being wounded.[10]
After his recovery, he served as military secretary to the commander-in-chief of the Transvaal, and was military secretary to Alfred Milner, high commissioner for Southern Africa, from December 1900,[11] with the local rank of lieutenant colonel.[12] He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in April 1901.[13]
In October 1906 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel[14] and, by now commanding the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, in May 1907 was made a CEO.[15]
In August 1910, after being promoted to colonel,[16] he succeeded Brigadier General Ivor Maxse in command of the Coldstream Guards and the regimental district.[17] He was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards in 1912, and was Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General for London District in 1913.[3]
He was military secretary to the C-in-C of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at the beginning of the First World War in August 1914. Promoted in September to temporary brigadier general,[18] and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in February 1915.[19] He was promoted once again, now to major general, in June, "for distinguished service in the Field"[20] and became general officer commanding (GOC) of the 4th Division in September, which he led for the next nearly two years.[3] Under his command, the 4th Division played a significant role in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, participating in the Battle of Albert and the Battle of Le Transloy. The following year, the division took part in the Battle of Arras, contributing to the First Battle of the Scarpe. Lambton's leadership during these battles demonstrated his tactical expertise, but his tenure as GOC 4th Division was cut short due to a riding accident in September 1917.[21]
He retired from the army in April 1920.[3][22][23]
Family
In 1921, he married Lady Katherine de Vere Somerset, née Beauclerk, daughter of William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans; they had no children.[24]
William Lambton died in Cap-d'Ail on 11 October 1936.[25]
References
- ^ "Major General Sir William Lambton KCB CMG CVO DSO". Family Search. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland by Edward Walford, (Volume ed.59, yr.1919)
- ^ a b c d e f "Lambton, William". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012.
- ^ "No. 25315". The London Gazette. 5 February 1884. p. 532.
- ^ "No. 26293". The London Gazette. 31 May 1892. p. 3208.
- ^ "No. 26667". The London Gazette. 1 October 1895. p. 5406.
- ^ a b Anglo Boer War
- ^ "No. 26931". The London Gazette. 21 January 1898. p. 376.
- ^ "No. 27021". The London Gazette. 8 November 1898. p. 6511.
- ^ "No. 27174". The London Gazette. 16 March 1900. pp. 1785–1787.
- ^ "No. 27283". The London Gazette. 12 February 1901. p. 1063.
- ^ "No. 27441". The London Gazette. 10 June 1902. p. 3754.
- ^ "No. 11296". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 April 1901. p. 466.
- ^ "No. 27963". The London Gazette. 2 November 1906. p. 7369.
- ^ "No. 28026". The London Gazette. 31 May 1907. p. 3757.
- ^ "No. 28404". The London Gazette. 5 August 1910. p. 5671.
- ^ "No. 28404". The London Gazette. 5 August 1910. p. 5670.
- ^ "No. 28909". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 September 1914. p. 7471.
- ^ "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1686.
- ^ "No. 29202". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1915. p. 6116.
- ^ "4th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ^ "No. 31866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 April 1920. p. 4445.
- ^ "No. 32775". The London Gazette. 8 December 1922. p. 8718.
- ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
- ^ "Death of Hon. Sir W. Lambton". The Daily Telegraph. Nice (published 12 October 1936). 11 October 1936. p. 15. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.