Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Erik Mathias Hjalmar Gustafsson Testrup (14 September 1878 – 18 December 1972) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include commanding officer of the Eastern Army Division of the IV Army Division, Commandant General of Stockholm Garrison and as military commander of the IV Military District.

Early life

Testrup was born on 14 September 1878 in

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

, Sweden, the son of lieutenant colonel Gustav Testrup and his wife Mathilda Gerlin.

Career

Military career

He was commissioned as an officer in

Kronoberg Regiment The Kronoberg Regiment ( sv, Kronobergs regemente), designations I 11 and I 11/Fo 16, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruit ...

in 1898 with the rank of ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 192 ...

''. Testrup was promoted to lieutenant in 1902 and attended the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1904 to 1906. He then served in the General Staff in 1910 and he was promoted to captain in 1912. Testrup served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1914 to 1915 and at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1915 to 1919. In 1917, he made a study trip to the German Western Front and served in the Göta Life Guards from 1917 to 1919, when he was promoted to major and served in the General Staff. In 1922, Testrup was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed head of the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. In 1925, he made a study trip to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(and to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in 1930) and the year after he was promoted to colonel and was appointed regimental commander of the North Scanian Infantry Regiment. Testrup was then commanding officer of the Military Office of the Land Defence from 1929 to 1932 and brigade commander in the Western Army Division from 1932 to 1936. He was promoted to major general in the army in 1934 and in 1936 he was appointed commanding officer of the Eastern Army Division and Commandant General of Stockholm Garrison. In 1937, Testrup was appointed commanding officer of the IV Army Division. During this time he continued serving as Commandant General of Stockholm Garrison. In 1939, he visited the field service exercises on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

. He was appointed military commander of the IV Military District in 1942 and in 1943 Testrup retired from active service and was at the same time promoted to lieutenant general.

Other work

Testrup was an expert on the army's providing with technical equipment from 1917 to 1918, on the training of certain technical officers from 1918 to 1921, secretary for the army in the ''Försvarsrevisionen'' from 1919 to 1923 and secretary of the General Commission (''Generalkommissionen'') in 1923. He was at the disposal of the Ministry of Defence for drafting a new army regulation from 1923 to 1924, secretary of the Land Defense (''Lantförsvaret'') in the Riksdag's Special Committee in 1924, and was an expert on the infantry exercise regulations and field service regulations from 1926 to 1927. In 1929, Testrup became a Riksdag's

Upper House An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

for The Right in 1929. Testrup was chairman of the military association KHS from 1924 to 1926, of the ''Norra skånska landstormsförbundet'' ("North Scanian Landstorm Association") from 1927 to 1930, of the ''Föreningen för befrämjandet av skolungdomens vapenövningar'' ("Association for the Promotion of Weapon Exercises for Students") from 1937 to 1947, of the Stockholm district of ''Militär Idrott'' from 1937 to 1943, of the Stockholm district of the

Swedish Red Cross The Swedish Red Cross ( Swedish: ''Svenska Röda Korset'') is a Swedish humanitarian organisation and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian m ...

from 1943 to 1954 and of the General Commission for Voluntary Health Care in War from 1944. He was also vice chairman of Bönnelyche & Thuröe AB from 1947 to 1959 and a member of the Executive Board of the ''H.M. Konungens Militärhospitals- och Medaljfonder'' from 1947 to 1964.

Personal life

In 1904, he married Ebba Thuröe (1883–1963), the daughter of Lauritz Thuröe and Christine Bönnelyche.

Death

Testrup died on 18 December 1972. He was buried on 26 January 1973 in the Old Cemetery in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of the thirteen dioceses ...

in the same grave as his parents and his wife.

Dates of rank

*1898 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 192 ...

'' *1902 –

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 ...

*1912 – Captain *1919 – Major *1922 – Lieutenant colonel *1926 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

*1934 –

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 ...

*1943 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander Grand Cross BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

(6 June 1941) * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander 1st Class BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(22 November 1932) * Royal Order of the Sword - Commander BAR

Commander 2nd Class of the

(6 June 1930) * Royal Order of the Sword - Knight 1st Class BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1919) *

SWE Order of Vasa - Knight 2nd Class BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

(16 June 1933) * SWE Order of Vasa - Knight 2nd Class BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1916) *

Order of the Polar Star - Ribbon bar, pre 1975

Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

(1923) *

Federation of Landstorm Associations Medal of Merit in gold * ''Lingiadens jubileumsmedalj'' ("Ligiad Commemorative Medal") * ''Landstormsofficerarnas riksförbunds hederstecken i guld'' ("Federation of Landstorm Associations Badge of Honor in Gold") *

' Silver Medal * SthlmsIfbGM * Central Board of the National Swedish Rifle Association's Silver Medal (''Sveriges skytteförbunds överstyrelses silvermedalj'') * ''Föreningen för befrämjande av skolungdomens vapenövningars guldmedalj'' ("Association for the Promotion of Weapon Exercises for Students' Gold Medal")

Foreign

EST Order of the Cross of the Eagle 2nd Class BAR

2nd Class of the

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

(between 1931 and 1935) * FIN Order of the White Rose Commander 1st Class BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

(between 1931 and 1935) * FIN Order of the White Rose Commander BAR

Commander 2nd Class of the

(between 1925 and 1928) * FIN Order of the White Rose Knight 1st Class BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(between 1918 and 1921) * DEU Deutsche Adlerorden 1 BAR

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded follo ...

(with degree as in Swedish is stated as ''Grand Officer'') (1942) * DNK Order of Danebrog Commander BAR

Commander 2nd Class of the Order of the Dannebrog (between 1931 and 1935) * Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander

Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

with Swords (between 1925 and 1928) * St Olavs Orden kommandør stripe

Commander of the Order of St. Olav (between 1925 and 1928) * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR

Commander 2nd Class of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

(between 1931 and 1935) * Legion Honneur Officier ribbon

Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(between 1931 and 1935) * Cavaliere SSML BAR

Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (between 1909 and 1915) * White Guard's Cross of Merit * Finnish Red Cross' Cross of Honor * Finnish commemorative medal for humanitarian activities *

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public ...

's Gold Medal *

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...

' Badge of Honor

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1924), its president 1943–1945 *Member of the Royal Patriotic Society *Member of the Royal Swedish Pro Patria Society *Member of the Idun Society (''Sällskapet Idun'') *Member of the ''Arla Coldinu Orden'', its president 1939–1956

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testrup, Erik 1878 births 1972 deaths Swedish Army lieutenant generals People from Landskrona Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders First Class of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa Members of the Första kammaren