Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Lewis Macclesfield Heath, (23 November 1885 – 10 January 1954) was an officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

during the early to mid-twentieth century.

Early life and family

Heath was born 23 November 1885, the son of Col. Lewis Forbes Heath of the

. He was educated at Wellington College and

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. He joined the British Indian Army in 1905. In 1915, Heath married Marjorie, daughter of Brigadier General A. B. H. Drew, and had three sons and two daughters. In 1941, he remarried Kathleen Longeron of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and had another son.

Military service

Heath joined the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

on 18 January 1905 and served with the King's African Rifles from 1909 to 1913. He was promoted to captain on 18 January 1914. He saw action in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

where he was injured losing an eye and suffering permanent damage to his left arm. He was subsequently awarded the

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

. Following the war he fought in the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

and served in East

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

from 1919 to 1921. He was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in India and Afghanistan between 30 May 1919 and 8 August 1919, and Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General between 9 August 1919 and 26 September 1919. On 18 January 1920, he was promoted to major. Between 1919 and 1921 he was Commandant of the Seistan Levy Corps. Between 21 November 1924 and 5 July 1928 Heath served as Assistant Commandant and Commandant Indian Wing, at the Army School of Education, India. He transferred to the 10/14 Punjab Regiment in 1928. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment in 1929 and was deployed to the North-West Frontier in India in 1930 and 1932. On 1 January 1929 Heath was promoted to battalion lieutenant colonel and then lieutenant colonel on 6 December 1929. On 6 May 1932, Heath was promoted to battalion colonel. He received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) on 8 September 1933 and was promoted to colonel on 9 January 1934. He became an instructor at the Senior Officers School,

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

, India in 1934 and Brigade Commander, Wana Brigade in 1936, in which capacity he was deployed to the North West Frontier in 1937. In 1939, Heath was awarded the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

on 2 January 1939 and promoted to Major General on 20 January of the same year. He went on to be Commander 7th Indian Division of the Deccan District in 1939. Heath achieved success as the General Officer Commanding the 5th Indian Infantry Division during the East African Campaign. Heath was appointed lieutenant general on 10 May 1941 and was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) on 30 May 1941. He was appointed to command III Indian Corps on 26 April 1941 as part of the Malaya Command, which then participated in the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

. He was unable to stop the Japanese advance and had conflicting opinions on how to conduct the campaign with his commanding officer, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. He was captured during the Battle of Singapore, and held in prison in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, Formosa, and

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

(Manchuria) between 1942 and 1945. He retired on 13 April 1946 with the rank of lieutenant general.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Lewis 1885 births 1954 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian Army generals of World War II Indian Army personnel of World War I King's African Rifles officers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military of Singapore under British rule Recipients of the Military Cross World War II prisoners of war held by Japan British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War British Indian Army generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst