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 Thomas Fraser (1840 – 1922) 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.

Life

Fraser was the eldest of four children of George Robbins Fraser, a barrister, and Elizabeth Allen Smythe. He was educated at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, from where he was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in 1862. Following postings in France and Bulgaria, he served as the Political Secretary to Sir Evelyn Wood during the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

. For his service in this conflict he was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. He served in the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

in 1882 and was twice

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 ...

, and promoted to Major and then Lieutenant-Colonel while serving with the Egyptian Army. He was again mentioned in dispatches, promoted to full Colonel and 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 ...

, before a period of service in England. Fraser was knighted in the

1900 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1900 were announced on 23 May 1900 in celebration of the birthday of Queen Victoria. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in ''T ...

and placed on retired pay in 1902. In 1913, Fraser was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers with the rank of Major-General and served in this role during 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 ...

Family

Fraser married Matilda Wildman in 1865, daughter of

James Beckford Wildman James Beckford Wildman (19 October 1789 – 25 May 1867) was an English people, English landowner and Tory (British political party), Tory politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Colchester ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Thomas 1840 births 1922 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British military personnel of the First Boer War Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Jersey military personnel Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Engineers officers