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 ...

Theodore Edward Stephenson CB (1856–1928) 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 who commanded 2nd Division.

Military career

Educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, Stephenson was commissioned into the

56th Regiment of Foot The 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, active from 1755 to 1881. It was originally raised in Northumbria as the 58th Regiment, and renumbered the 56th the following year when two senior regiments we ...

in 1874. He served 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 ...

in which he commanded a column which took part in the attack on Plessis Poort. In his final despatch from South Africa in June 1902, Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the forces during the latter part of the war, described Stephenson as "an excellent Officer, who has displayed good sense wherever he has been employed". Following the end of the war in June 1902, he stayed on in South Africa for several months with a staff appointment and the local 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 ...

. He also served in the

Zulu Rebellion The Bambatha Rebellion (or the Zulu Rebellion) of 1906 was led by Bambatha kaMancinza (c. 1860–1906?), leader of the Zondi clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley (now a district near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal) against British ...

of 1905 and became General Officer Commanding 6th Division in 1906, General Officer Commanding 2nd Division in 1907Army Commands
and Commander of the Troops in the Straits Settlements in 1910. He served in the

First World War 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 ...

as General Officer Commanding

65th (2nd Lowland) Division The 65th (2nd Lowland) Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Divisi ...

before retiring in 1918.

Family

He married Philippa Watson.Family tree maker
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References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Theodore 1856 births 1928 deaths British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath 56th Regiment of Foot officers People educated at Marlborough College Military personnel from Dorset