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 ...

Sir Cromer Ashburnham (13 September 1831 – 25 February 1917) 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 Gurk ...

officer. He was born in 1831, the fourth son of

Sir John Ashburnham, 7th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, and joined the Army in 1855, commissioned in the

60th Rifles The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United S ...

.Obituary: p. 162, ''The Annual Register: a review of public events at home and abroad, for the year 1917''. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1918. He served during the Indian Mutiny, and commanded the 2nd Battalion of the regiment during the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the ...

. In 1880 he was promoted to command the 3rd Battalion, and led it during the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

, where he was twice mentioned in despatches, and the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, where he was again twice mentioned in despatches and was appointed KCB. At the Battle of Tel el-Kebir, he commanded a brigade."ASHBURNHAM, Sir Cromer", in He remained in command of the 3rd Battalion during the 1884

Sudan Campaign The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

, and in 1884 was appointed the Governor of Suakim. He retired in 1886 with the rank of major-general. In 1881, he had been appointed an aide-de-camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, and in 1907, he was appointed a colonel-commandant of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. Ashburnham married Urith Amelia Martin, sister of George Bohun Martin on 26 July 1864. They had the following children: * Urith Amelia Ashburnham (d. 4 Feb 1958) * Maj. Cromer Ashburnham (25 Apr 1866 – 11 Sep 1919) * John Ashburnham (19 Aug 1873 – 7 Sep 1873) * Editha Ashburnham (7 Sep 1878 – 20 May 1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburnham, Cromer 1831 births 1917 deaths British Army major generals King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the First Boer War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath