Thomas Morland

Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland
Lt-Gen Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland
Born	(1865-08-09)9 August 1865 Montreal, Canada East
Died	21 May 1925(1925-05-21) (aged 59)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1884–1923
Rank	General
Unit	King's Royal Rifle Corps
Commands	British Army of the Rhine XIII Corps X Corps 5th Division 14th Division 2nd London Division 2nd Infantry Brigade West African Field Force
Battles / wars	First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches

General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland, KCB, KCMG, DSO (9 August 1865 – 21 May 1925) was a senior British Army officer during the First World War.

Early life

Born in Montreal, Canada East,^[1] Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante. Educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Morland was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in August 1884.^[2][3]

Military career

Service in West Africa

Morland later served in Nigeria, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and being appointed commanding officer of the West African Field Force in 1900.^[2] The following year he was in command of an expedition to Yola, leading to the defeat and deposition of the Emir of Adamawa in September 1901, and to British occupation of the Adamawa Emirate, important for the later occupation of the Sokoto Caliphate as it reduced slave traffic through the Adamawa area. Morland was wounded by a poisoned arrow during the fighting, but stuck to his command. In a despatch describing the expedition, the acting High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria gave him "very great credit for the successful issue of this important expedition."^[4] The following year he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in recognition of his services (dated 25 April 1902).^[5] In 1902 he was appointed commander of the forces in Northern Nigeria, and served as advisor to the French and British commissioners appointed for boundary delimitation in the area.^[6] He led a British force to victory in the Battle of Kano in February 1903.^[7] From 1905 to 1909, he was Inspector-General of the West African Field Force.^[2]

First World War

In June 1910, after coming off of the half-pay list, Morland was promoted to temporary brigadier general and succeeded Nevil Macready in command of the 2nd Infantry Brigade,^[8] a position he held until the outbreak of the First World War.^[2]

Morland then became general officer commanding (GOC) 2nd London Division in August 1914,^[9] then GOC of 14th Division in September 1914^[10] and finally GOC of 5th Division in October 1914.^[2] He was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general in July 1915,^[11] and commanded X Corps from then through to April 1918.^[2] During this time, he was one of General Sir Herbert Plumer's corps commanders at the Battle of Messines in 1917.^[2]

Post-war

Formal group photograph of British and French officers and commissioners outside the house of the Commander-in-Chief Allied Armies of Occupation, Marienberg, 1919 or 1920. Lieutenant General Morland is sat on the far left in the front row, with Major General William Heneker stood behind.

At the end of the war, Morland, who in January 1918 was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant general,^[12] took command of XIII Corps, a position he held until 1920,^[2] when he was promoted and made commander-in-chief of the British Army of the Rhine.^[2] Two years later, he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Aldershot Command and promoted to full general.^[2] He retired the following year, in 1923.^[2]

Morland died on 21 May 1925 and was buried in the English cemetery at Villeneuve, Montreux.^[2]

Family

In 1890, Morland married Mabel St. John, with whom he had two daughters.^[2]

In popular culture

Morland was portrayed by Eric Carte in the 2006 BBC docudrama The Somme - From Defeat to Victory.

References

1. (in French) Michel Veyron, Dictionnaire canadien des noms propres, p.449
2. "Thomas Morland". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35109. Retrieved 17 June 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. "No. 25389". The London Gazette. 22 August 1884. p. 3831.
4. "No. 27426". The London Gazette. 18 April 1902. pp. 2585–2587.
5. "No. 27428". The London Gazette. 25 April 1902. p. 2759.
6. "The delimitation of Northern Nigeria". The Times. No. 36939. London. 1 December 1902. p. 6.
7. "Capture of Kano". West Gippsland Gazette (Morning ed.). Warragul, Victoria: National Library of Australia. 19 May 1903. p. 6. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
8. "No. 28384". The London Gazette. 14 June 1910. p. 4175.
9. "No. 28921". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 September 1914. p. 7787.
10. "No. 28930". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 October 1914. p. 8017.
11. "No. 29267". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 August 1915. p. 8247.
12. "No. 30450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1919. p. 8.

Bibliography

• Thompson, Bill (2015). Morland - Great War Corps Commander: War Diaries & Letters, 1914-1918. Troubador Publishing. ISBN 978-1784622787.

Military offices
Preceded by Charles Monro	GOC 2nd London Division August–September 1914	Succeeded by Sir Charles Barter
Preceded by Sir Charles Fergusson	GOC 5th Division 1914–1915	Succeeded by Charles Kavanagh
New command	GOC X Corps 1915–1918	Succeeded by William Peyton
Preceded by Sir William Robertson	C-in-C British Army of the Rhine 1920–1922	Succeeded by Sir Alexander Godley
Preceded by The Earl of Cavan	GOC-in-C Aldershot Command 1922–1923	Succeeded by Sir Philip Chetwode
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow	Colonel of the Suffolk Regiment 1919–1925	Succeeded by Sir John Ponsonby