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 ...

Lechmere Cay Thomas, (20 October 1897 – 9 May 1981) was a senior

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 who fought in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second World Wars.

Military career

Thomas was the son of Kempson Thomas and he was educated at Cranleigh School.Thomas, Lechmere Cay in
British Army Officers 1939–1945
' at unithistories.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015 In 1915 he was mobilised as a member of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

, serving in the

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

in France and Belgium. On 29 November 1915 he received a temporary commission in his regiment. On 12 March 1917 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(MC) for gallantry for leading a successful raid on German lines. He was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his MC in February 1918. Following the end of the First World War, Thomas served in the war in Iraq, during which he was wounded, and on 2 March 1921 he received a permanent commission in the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

. Between 1925 and 1927 he served with the King's African Rifles (KAR), before being seconded to the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a locally recruited British-led force formed in 1925 to assist the police in the event of civil unrest, and to maintain the borders of British administered Sudan. During the Second World War, it also served bey ...

until 1929. Thomas then returned to the KAR as adjutant and was commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, KAR from 1934 to 1939. In January 1939 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. During the Second World War, Thomas saw active service in France, Malaya, and Burma. He was

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 9th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers from 1940 to 1942. On 22 October 1940 he awarded 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 February, as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, Thomas took command of an ''ad hoc'' formation called "Tomforce" made up of troops from the 18th Infantry Division during the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

. Later in 1942, Thomas commanded 1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment and from September 1942 to April 1943 he was in command of the

88th Indian Infantry Brigade The 88th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1942, at Chittagong to protect the 14th Indian Infantry Division's lines of communications and was disbanded on 8 ...

during the Burma Campaign. Between 1943 and 1945 he commanded the

36th Indian Infantry Brigade The 36th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in June 1941, at Baleli in India and assigned to the 14th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade spent between March 1942 ...

. In 1945 he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and awarded a Bar to his DSO, ending the war as a colonel. Between 1945 and 1947 Thomas served as inspector general of the British Army in Burma, before serving as general officer commanding of the army in Burma until 1948. That year he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

. He retired in August 1948 and was granted the honorary rank of major general.

Footnotes

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Lechmere 1897 births 1981 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath East Surrey Regiment officers East Surrey Regiment soldiers People educated at Cranleigh School People from Guildford Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Wiltshire Regiment officers British Army brigadiers of World War II Military personnel from Guildford