William Thwaites

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Sir William Thwaites
Born(1868-06-09)9 June 1868
Kensington, London, England
Died22 June 1947(1947-06-22) (aged 79)
Reading, Berkshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1887–1929
RankGeneral
Commands heldTerritorial Army
British Army of the Rhine
47th (2nd London) Division
46th (North Midland) Division
141st (5th London) Brigade
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George

General Sir William Thwaites, KCB, KCMG (9 June 1868 – 22 June 1947) was a British Army officer who served as commander of the British Army of the Rhine.[1]

Early life and education[]

Thwaites was born in Kensington, the son of William Thwaites of Durham Villas. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and at Heidelberg before passing into the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[1][2]

Military career[]

Thwaites was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1887.[3] He served in the Second Boer War as an Adjutant in 33rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery.[3] He served in the First World War on the Western Front in France and Belgium, becoming commander of the 141st (5th London) Brigade in 1915.[3] He was then made General Officer Commanding 46th (North Midland) Division in July 1916.[3]

After the war Thwaites became Director of Military Intelligence at the War Office from 1918, and then Director of Military Operations and Intelligence from 1922.[3] In 1923 he became General Officer Commanding 47th (2nd London) Division and in 1927 he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief British Army of the Rhine:[3] he was the last person to hold this post until after the Second World War.[4] He was Director General of the Territorial Army from 1931 to 1933 when he retired.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Obituary: Gen. Sir. W. Thwaites". The Times. 23 June 1947. p. 7.
  2. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard, ed. (1939). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (97th ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2928.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Thwaites, Sir William". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ World Statesmen
Military offices
Preceded by
Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley
GOC 46th (North Midland) Division
1916–1918
Succeeded by
Gerald Boyd
Preceded by
George Macdonogh
Director of Military Intelligence
(Director of Military Operations and Intelligence from 1922)

1918–1923
Succeeded by
John Burnett-Stuart
Preceded by
Sir Nevill Smyth
GOC 47th (2nd London) Division
1923–1927
Succeeded by
Leopold Oldfield
Preceded by
Sir John Du Cane
Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine
1927–1929
Army disbanded
Retrieved from ""