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 (Henry) Cecil Lowther, (1 January 1869 – 1 November 1940) was a British general and Conservative politician,

big-game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("spo ...

and adventurer.

Career

Born in

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

, Bedfordshire, he was the fourth son of William Lowther. Educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

, he was commissioned into the Scots Guards 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 ...

on 29 December 1888, 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 13 April 1892, and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 24 June 1899. When 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 ...

broke out in October 1899, the 1st battalion of the Scots Guards departed Ireland for South Africa to join up with the 1st Guards Brigade, with Lowther appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

. They reached that country in November, and immediately saw action in the battles of

Belmont Belmont may refer to: People * Belmont (surname) Places * Belmont Abbey (disambiguation) * Belmont Historic District (disambiguation) * Belmont Hotel (disambiguation) * Belmont Park (disambiguation) * Belmont Plantation (disambiguation) * Belmon ...

and

Modder River The Modder River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Riet River that forms part of the border between the Northern Cape and the Free State provinces. The river's banks were the scenes of heavy fighting in the beginning of the S ...

, both British victories, though at a heavy cost in British life. In December, the battalion was present at the Battle of Magersfontein, and the following year took part in the march to take the Boer capitals of Bloemfontein and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. After taking the latter city, the 1st Guards Brigade took part in the

Battle of Diamond Hill The Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek) () was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 in central Transvaal. Background The Boer forces retreated to the east by the time the capital of the South African ...

(June 1900), and in the last large scale battle of the war at Bergendal in August 1900. The war then became a guerrilla war, and Lowther was on 20 July 1901 appointed to a staff position as Staff Captain for Intelligence. For his service in the war, Lowther received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

, was appointed a Companion of 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),Hart′s Army list, 1903 and was noted for future staff employment. After the war had ended, Lowther was back as a regular officer in the 1st battalion of his regiment in September 1902, but three months later was seconded for a Staff appointment as Brigade Major, Foot Guards brigade in the 1st Army Corps on 3 December 1902. In October 1913, on the eve of World War I, he commanded 1st Battalion Scots Guards until being wounded in November 1914. He then commanded 1st (Guards) Brigade, which was broken up in August 1915, and afterwards became Military Secretary at

General Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

France. On 24 February 1916 he received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, class of ''Commandeur'', and in the Birthday Honours of 1918 he was appointed Knight Commander 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. ...

. Lowther was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Appleby at a by-election in 1915, but the constituency was abolished in 1918. In 1921 Lowther returned to Parliament as MP for Penrith and Cockermouth succeeding his brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, who had held the seat since 1886 and been the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

since 1905, became

Viscount Ullswater Viscount Ullswater, of Campsea Ashe in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, James Lowther upon his retirement as Speaker of the House of Commons ...

, but lost the seat in the 1922 general election to the Liberal

Levi Collison Levi Collison (28 December 1875 – 22 October 1965) was an English art publisher and printer and Liberal Member of Parliament. Private life Levi Collison was born in Preston, Lancashire, and educated at private schools. He married and had two so ...

. He did not attempt to return to politics. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

on 11 November 1901. In 1912, he published ''From Pillar to Post'', an account of his travels. In 1925, he co-authored ''The Scots Guards in the Great War, 1914–1918''. He died in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

, Hampshire aged 71.

Family

He had married late, on 28 June 1920, to Dorothy Maude Isabel Harvey, a widow of Gordon Bois. There were no children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowther, Cecil 1869 births 1940 deaths British Army major generals Military personnel from Bedfordshire British Army generals of World War I People educated at Clifton College Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Scots Guards officers UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur People from Basingstoke People from Ampthill

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...