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 ...

Herbert Cyril Thacker (16 September 1870 – 2 June 1953) was a Canadian soldier and

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, the head of the Canadian Militia (later the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

) from 1927 until 1929.

Military career

Thacker was born the son of Major-General J. Thacker of the Bombay Staff Corps in 1870 in

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

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 ...

. He attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and, in 1887, he graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

.(1922). ''Prominent People of the Maritime Provinces,'' p. 193.
/ref> Commissioned in the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...

in 1891, he conducted survey work in western Canada for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He 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 ...

in 1893. His service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

of 1900 in the Canadian Field Artillery led to the award of the Queen's medal with three clasps.Pacey, Elizabeth
"Commander’s residence at Royal Artillery park,"
''Trident.'' 38:20, 7. October 18, 2004. From 1904 to 1905 he had the unique Canadian assignment as a military attaché with the Japanese Army during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

but he was joined by other colonials. Along with other Western military attachés, Thacker had two complementary missions – to assist the Japanese and to observe the Japanese forces in the field during the Russo-Japanese War. Major-General A

In 1907, his appointment as Director of Artillery at Ottawa accompanied a promotion as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery (RCGA), and he became one of the 65 to live in the Commanding Officers’ Residence at Royal Artillery Park in Halifax. In 1911 he became Inspector of Coast Defense Artillery. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Thacker joined the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF), sailing for Europe with the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

. Thacker went on to command the 2nd Canadian Divisional Artillery from 1914 to 1915. After General Sir Henry E. Burstall was promoted, Thacker commanded the 1st Canadian Divisional Artillery from September 1915 through the end of World War and the CEF return to Canada. After the war, Thacker was appointed the District Officer Commanding Military District 6, returning with his family to live at Royal Artillery Park. His career was capped with service as

from 1927 to 1929. Thacker retired from military service in 1929. He died in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, in June 1953.

Honors

For his service in the Boer War, Thacker was awarded the Queen's Medal with three clasps (1900). He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class by the Japanese government for his services during the Russo-Japanese War.L'Harmattan web site (in French)
/ref> He also received the Japanese War medal for service during that campaign. For service in World War I, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint 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 ...

(CMG) in 1916. Thacker was appointed to 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 ...

(DSO) in 1918. He was created a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in 1919.

Notes

References

* Hitsman, J. Mackay and Desmond Morton
"Canada's First Military Attache: Capt. H. C. Thacker in the Russo-Japanese War,"
''Military Affairs'', Vol. 34, No. 3 (Oct., 1970), pp. 82–84
"Report No. 14,"
, Directorate of History, Canadian Forces Headquarters, 8 September 1967. * Armstrong, Captain J.G., "A Gunner in Manchuria: Canada Observes the Russo-Japanese War," ''Canadian Defence Quarterly'', Vol. 12, No.4 (Spring 1983), 37–44.

External links

*
Herbert Cyril Thacker
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thacker, Herbert Cyril 1870 births 1953 deaths Canadian generals of World War I Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure People of the Russo-Japanese War Royal Military College of Canada alumni Canadian military personnel of the Second Boer War Military personnel of British India Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Canadian Militia officers Military attachés

Military career

Honors

Notes

See also

References

External links