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 ...

Sir (Cecil) Lothian Nicholson (1 November 1865 – 3 March 1933) was a

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.

Military career

Born the son of Sir Lothian Nicholson, a former

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

, and Mary Romilly, Nicholson was commissioned into the Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment on 29 August 1885. He became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

in November 1914 and commanded his regiment at the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge a ...

in March 1915 where he was wounded. He went on to command the 16th Brigade at Hooge in August 1915 and then became General Officer Commanding 34th Division commanding it at the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917 and the Battle of the Lys in April 1918 as well as subsequent battles on the Western Front. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1916 Birthday Honours and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1918 New Year Honours. He was then advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in the 1919 Birthday Honours. He went on to become General Officer Commanding the Eastern Division of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

in March 1919 and then General Officer Commanding 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division in April 1921 before retiring in April 1925.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Lothian 1856 births 1933 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Green Howards officers British Army generals of World War I East Lancashire Regiment officers British Army major generals