General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Sir Mowbray Thomson (April 1, 1832 – February 25, 1917) was an officer in the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
.
Thomson was born in "Bhurtpore" (modern day Bharatpur, Rajasthan), India on April 1, 1832. He was educated in England and attended
Addiscombe Military Seminary as a cadet. In 1853 he received a commission in the
53rd Bengal Native Infantry, a regiment in the British East India Company. During the
Indian Mutiny of 1857, Thomson played a key role in the defense of
Wheeler's Entrenchment during the
Siege of Cawnpore
The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in ret ...
. He was one of the few survivors of the siege and subsequent massacre at
Sati Chaura Ghat .
[The Annual Register, p. 162]
Thomson was invalided to England, heavily wounded, and promoted to
brevet-major. While convalescing in England, he wrote ''The Story of Cawnpore'', a first-hand account of the siege, which was published in 1859. After returning to India, he was given a civilian post as political agent at
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
, and later appointed Governor-General's agent for
Wajid Ali Shah
Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.
Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...
, the former King of
Oudh
The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...
. He retired in 1885, with the Army rank of
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 ...
, and was promoted to full general in 1894.
[
Thomson died in Reading, England on February 25, 1917. The funeral service was held on February 28 in Saint Bartholomew's church, Reading and his body cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in London.
]
References
Sources
*Obituary: p. 162, ''The Annual Register: a review of public events at home and abroad, for the year 1917''. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1918.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Mowbray
1832 births
1917 deaths
British East India Company Army officers
British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857
British Indian Army generals
Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire