Lieutenant General Thomas William Corbett, (2 June 1888 – 30 December 1981) was a
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
officer who commanded the
IV Corps during the
Second World War.
Early life and military career
Corbett attended the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was
commissioned onto the Unattached List for the
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
on 19 January 1907. Posted to India, he was attached to the 1st Battalion The Queens Regiment on 15 March 1907 for a year. He was admitted to Indian Army 15 March 1908 and joined
9th Hodson's Horse.
Following the outbreak of
World War I,
[Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]
/ref> Corbett landed in France on 7 November 1914 and was wounded on 21 December.[Cardew, Major F. G., O.B.E., Hodson's Horse 1857–1922] He became staff captain of the 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade
The Ambala Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1904 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 1st Indian ...
on 4 April 1916,[Quarterly Army List for quarter ending 31 March 1922] brigade major for the 1st Cavalry Brigade on 8 June 1917,Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. He was awarded the Military Cross in the ''London Gazette
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
'' of 3 June 1918. He was wounded on 23 May while leading a trench raid, for which he was later 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 Military Cross.mentioned in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
twice. He went on to be brigade major for the 160th Brigade, Egyptian Expeditionary Force on 2 August 1918.
Between the wars
After the war Corbett became Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General for 4th Cavalry Division of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from 7 August 1919 to 31 August 1920.[Indian Army List Supplement 1941]
Corbett attended Staff College, Quetta in 1921–22 and was appointed a general staff officer grade 2 on the General Staff, Southern Command, India from 15 February 1922 until 28 August 1925. He was again appointed a general staff officer grade 2 as staff officer to Major-General Cavalry from 26 September 1925 to 4 December 1926.[Generals.dk]
/ref>
Second World War
Corbett served in the Second World War as a brigadier responsible for the cavalry at Army Headquarters India and then as Inspector of Cavalry Army Headquarters India from 29 January 1940 to 31 August 1940,31st Indian Armoured Division
The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it w ...
).[ 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 ...
in January 1941. He went on to be commander of IV Corps from January to March 1942 in Iraq, before being appointed chief of staff in the Middle East later that year.[ Corbett was dismissed in the 'Cairo purge' in August 1942. He was then GOC ]7th Indian Infantry Division
The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign.
History
The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major General Arthur Wakely ...
in India from 23 October 1942 until July 1943, when he handed command over to Frank Messervy
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (15 August 1947 ...
before retiring as a major general 23 October 1943.[
By October 1945 Corbett had been re-employed as head of the Combined Inter Services Historical Section (India) while on the Indian Regular Reserve of Officers.][October 1945 Indian Army List]
References
Bibliography
*
External links
The Papers of Lieutenant-General Thomas Corbett
held at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge
Generals of World War II
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Thomas
1888 births
1980 deaths
Academics of the Staff College, Quetta
Indian Army generals of World War II
Recipients of the Military Cross
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Indian Army personnel of World War I
Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta
British Indian Army generals