Brigadier General Edmund Byam Mathew-Lannowe (29 June 1875 – 15 January 1940) was a British soldier and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

pioneer.Obituaries." ''Times'', 16 Jan. 1940, p. 8. ''The Times Digital Archive'', Accessed 21 Apr. 2019.
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Early life

Edmund Byam Mathew-Lannowe was born on 29 June 1875 in the

Presidency of Bombay The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to Major-General Brownlow Hugh Mathew-Lannowe, formerly of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. His grandfather was Sir

George Buckley-Mathew Sir George Benvenuto Buckley-Mathew (4 August 1807 – 22 October 1879) was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. Life Born in 1807 as George Byam Mathew, Buckley-Mathew was the son of George Mathew (1760–1846) of the Coldstr ...

CB, who had served with Coldstream Guards and was at one point

British Ambassador to Argentina The ambassador of the United Kingdom to Argentina is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Argentina, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission there. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Argentine ...

Military service

Edmund attended Oxford Military College and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

. From there he was gazetted as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Royal Regiment (West Surrey) on 28 September 1895, having passed his examination with "Honours".

India

Mathew-Lannowe was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 18 May 1897, and travelled with the regiment to

where he fought on the North West Frontier in 1897–98 as part of the

Malakand Field Force The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands ...

and the

Tirah campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

. On 1 December 1902 he was promoted to

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

and appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an 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 forces as a non-commission ...

to the 1st Battalion, stationed in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. He served as adjutant until November 1905. In 1909 he graduated from the Staff College in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

and joined the 1st Secunderabad Brigade as brigade-major in October of that year. He moved to the 3rd Lahore Division as GSO2 in February 1912 and returned to his regiment in October 1913.

First World War

Edmund’s regiment was in the United Kingdom when Britain declared war in August 1914, and he went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with the British Expeditionary Force. Now Major Mathew-Lannowe, he was injured in September 1914 at the Battle of the Aisne. He was not able to redeploy until July 1915, when he was appointed brigade-major of the 101st Brigade ( New Army) following his recovery. He returned to France in March 1916 with the 39th Division of the New Army as GSO2. In this capacity he was with the division during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, the

Battle of Ancre The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the last ...

, the Battle of Ancre Heights and the

Battle of Thiepval The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Four ...

Tanks

It was at this point that Edmund was appointed to the role of Superintendent of Training at the Bovington Tank Centre in the UK. There was an interlude in this when he served at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

as chief staff officer to the Director-General of the

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, Sir John Capper. He was sent back to Bovington in August 1918 at Commandant of the training centre till August 1919. Further to his work with the Tank Corps, he served on the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

, Small Arms Committee. His work was recognised with the award of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1917 and 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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 1918.

Post War

He took command of the 2nd Battalion of The Queen’s Royal Regiment in 1920. Serving in India, he commanded the Waziristan Force during the Wana Expedition. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

for his service. His service ended in October 1931 when he retired with the honorary rank of

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He remained on the reserve list and liable to recall until 1935 when he reached the age limit. He was a Reader in Military Studies at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

Personal life

He married Mary Mackenzie (maiden name, Deane), widow of Archibald Thomas Mackenzie, in 1919 with whom he had one daughter. Mary and her first husband were

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d in 1918 with Mathew-Lannowe was named in the proceedings as having been in a relationship with Mary. While away in India Archibald heard rumours of infidelity on Mary's part he instructed

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s, Lewis and Lewis, to examine the matter. They discovered that Mary and Edmund had stayed as husband and wife at the River Hotel,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. Mary and Edmund were married at St. James's Church in Piccadilly. Edmund was a member of the Old Contemptibles Association and commanded a column during their march from Finsbury Square to

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

in 1939. Edmund died at his

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current nursing home of

bronchial pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of ...

at the age of 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew-Lannowe, Edmund Byam 1875 births 1940 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British people in colonial India