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 ...

Herbert Cokayne Frith, (12 July 1861 – 1942) was a senior British Army officer who briefly served as General Officer Commanding

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignat ...

during the First World War.

Military career

Frith was commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry on 28 January 1882. He served with the Egyptian Army at the

Battle of Ginnis The Battle of Ginnis (also known as the Battle of Gennis) was a minor battle of the Mahdist War that was fought on December 30, 1885, between soldiers of the Anglo-Egyptian Army and Mahdist Sudanese warriors of the Dervish State. The battle was ca ...

in December 1885 and at the Battle of Toski in August 1889 during the

Mahdist War 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 ...

. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry in November 1909. On 5 August 1914, a day after the British entry into World War I, he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and was given command of the Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade, which later became the

125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade The 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and Second World Wars. It was assigned to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and served in the Middle E ...

, and which he would command for almost three years, leading the brigade throughout the Gallipoli campaign. He briefly served as acting General Officer Commanding

, the 125th Brigade's parent formation, from 29 December 1915 to 21 January 1916 in Egypt and again from 2 March 1917 to 10 March 1917 in France. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his services in Egypt on 3 June 1916.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Herbert Cokayne 1861 births 1942 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath British Army brigadiers British Army generals of World War I Somerset Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of the Mahdist War Military personnel from Lincolnshire