General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Thomas Cecil Hook Pearson, (1 July 1914 – 15 December 2019) was a senior officer of the

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 ...

who served as Commander-in-Chief of

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allie ...

from 1972 to 1974. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living British full general.

Background and early career

Thomas Pearson was born on 1 July 1914, shortly before 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 ...

began, in Queenstown, Ireland. He was the son of Commander (later Vice-Admiral) John Lewis Pearson (1878-1965), a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer, and Phoebe Charlotte Pearson. A member of a notable

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

family with a long tradition of service in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, Pearson was the fourth generation of his family to achieve general officer or flag rank. His great-great-grandfather John Pearson (1771-1841) was a barrister and senior

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 Southea ...

official who served as

Advocate-General of Bengal The Advocate-General of Bengal was charged with advising the Government of the British administered Bengal Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1765 to 1947. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, t ...

from 1824 to 1840. His great-grandfather General Thomas Hooke Pearson CB (1806-1892) served as an ADC to the

Earl Amherst Earl Amherst (), of Arracan in the East Indies, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 December 1826, for William Amherst, 2nd Baron Amherst, the Governor-General of India. He was made Viscount Holmesdale, in t ...

, then Governor-General of India. He fought under Lord Combermere at the

Siege of Bharatpur The siege of Bharatpore was a siege that took place in the Indian princely state of Bharatpur (now part of Rajasthan) between December 1825 and January 1826. British troops under Lord Combermere initially surrounded the state's capital until ...

and served with the

16th The Queen's Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

in the Gwalior campaign (Maharajpur) and the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...

( Badowal, Aliwal and

Sobraon Sobraon is a village in Punjab, India. It is located west to Harike village in Tarn Taran district. The Sutlej river is to the south of this village. The village is located at 31°10'39N 74°51'10E with an altitude of 192 metres (633 feet). H ...

), commanding a regiment at Sobraon and being mentioned in despatches. His grandfather, Admiral Sir

Hugo Pearson Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Hugo Lewis Pearson, Order of the Bath, KCB (30 June 1843 – 12 June 1912) was a Royal Navy officer who served as both Australia Station, Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station and Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. N ...

KCB (1843-1912) joined the

and rose to command the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

, before retiring as

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

in 1907. Pearson was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

, and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, from where he, along with another future

general officer 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 O ...

Douglas Darling Major General Douglas Lyall Darling & Bar, MC & Bar (3 October 1914 – 28 December 1978) was a British Army officer who was highly decorated for gallantry and leadership during the Second World War. Early life Darling was born in India, the ...

, was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on 30 August 1934. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 31 August 1937.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref>

Second World War

Pearson served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, initially as a Staff Captain in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) in 1941 as a temporary captain. He was promoted to captain on 30 August 1942 and became

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of 2nd Battalion

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

that year, with the ranks of war substantive major and temporary lieutenant colonel. He took part in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

, a turning-point in the war,Royal Green Jackets Museum
/ref> and was 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 DSO on 19 August 1943. In 1943, Pearson became a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

, first at Force Headquarters and then in the Middle East. On 8 December 1944, he was promoted to war-substantive lieutenant-colonel and temporary colonel. He was appointed Deputy Commander of 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade Group in 1944 and then Deputy Commander of 1st Airlanding Brigade in 1945.

Post-war career

After the war, Pearson was made Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment in 1946 and Commanding Officer of 7th Battalion Parachute Regiment in 1947. He was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 30 August 1947. Brevetted lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1951, Pearson became a General Staff Officer serving at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, then at

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Headquarters and then at Headquarters

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ( ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded ...

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his service in Malaya on 30 October 1953. He became an Instructor at the Joint Services Staff College in 1953, Commander of 45th Parachute Brigade in 1955 with the temporary rank of brigadier. He was promoted to colonel on 3 April 1955 and became Commander 16th Independent Parachute Brigade in 1957. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1959 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 30 December 1958 to celeb ...

list. He was appointed Chief of Staff to the Director of Operations in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 1960 and Head of the British Military Mission to the Soviet Zone of Germany in 1960. Pearson became General Officer Commanding 1st Division on 4 November 1961 with the temporary rank of major general, and was retroactively promoted to major general from that date on 8 December. He relinquished this appointment on 5 November 1963 and was appointed Chief of Staff for

Northern Army Group The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established on ...

on 14 December 1963. Pearson 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 the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebrat ...

list. Relinquishing his appointment as Chief of Staff, Northern Army Group on 28 October 1966, he was appointed General Officer Commanding

on 1 February 1967 and promoted to lieutenant general with seniority from 12 June 1966. He was knighted as a

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 of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in that year's Birthday Honours list. After relinquishing his appointment as GOC Far East on 16 November 1968, Pearson was appointed Military Secretary at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

on 13 January 1969. Vacating his appointment of Military Secretary on 2 February 1972, Pearson received his final appointment as Commander-in-Chief,

on 9 February 1972, with the rank of general (seniority from 7 January 1972). He relinquished this appointment on 18 September 1974 and retired on 27 December after a 40-year career. In June 2009 he was present at the unveiling of an updated display at the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgama ...

Museum. Pearson died on 15 December 2019 at the age of 105.

Arms

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945ParaData
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Thomas 1914 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from County Cork British Army generals British Army personnel of World War II British centenarians British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency British Parachute Regiment officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Men centenarians People educated at Charterhouse School Soldiers from Cobh Rifle Brigade officers