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 ...

Walter Babington "Sandy" Thomas, (29 June 1919 – 22 October 2017) was a New Zealand-born

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 served as General Officer Commanding Far East Land Forces from 1970 to 1971. He previously served with the

New Zealand Military Forces , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

in the Second World War, where he was decorated, wounded and, at age 24, became the youngest New Zealand battalion commander of the war.

Military career

Thomas was born in

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding ...

, New Zealand, on 29 June 1919. He was commissioned into the

New Zealand Military Forces , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

at the outbreak of 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 opposi ...

. During his service in the

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

, Thomas was wounded, became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, escaped from a prison hospital, fled to Syria, and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and

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 ...

. As a temporary major he received 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, ty ...

in 1943, and rose to command the 23rd Battalion in Italy to become, at age 24, the youngest New Zealand battalion commander in the war. Thomas ended the war as a lieutenant colonel, and was awarded the United States Silver Star. After the war Thomas obtained a commission in the Royal Hampshire Regiment and, in 1955, he was mentioned in despatches while dealing with the Mau Mau Uprising in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. He was appointed General Officer Commanding

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 5th Division (Australia) *5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Mo ...

in 1968, and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Far East Land Forces in April 1970, before being elevated to be General Officer Commanding Far East Land Forces in October. Thomas was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1971, and retired in 1972. Thomas died at his home in

Beaudesert, Queensland Beaudesert is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Beaudesert had a population of 6,395 people. Beaudesert is the administrative centre for the Scenic Rim Region. Geography Beaudesert is south o ...

, on 22 October 2017 at the age of 98.Highly decorated New Zealand soldier Major-General Walter "Sandy" Thomas dies
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References

Bibliography

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External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Walter Babington 1919 births 2017 deaths British Army generals British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath New Zealand military personnel of World War II People from Motueka New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Silver Star Royal Hampshire Regiment officers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany