Cecil Romer

General Sir Cecil Francis Romer, GCB, KBE, CMG, ADC (14 November 1869 – 1 October 1962) was a British Army general who reached high command during the 1920s.[2]

Sir Cecil Romer
General Sir Cecil Romer
Born14 November 1869
Kensington, London[1]
Died1 October 1962 (aged 92)
Maidstone, Kent
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankGeneral
Commands held59th (2nd North Midland) Division
1st Division
Western Command
Southern Command
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
World War I
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Early life and education

Romer was born in Kensington, London, the son of Lord Justice Robert Romer (1840–1918) and Betty Lemon, daughter of Mark Lemon, editor of Punch. His elder brother was Mark Romer, Baron Romer (1866–1944). He was educated at Eton College.[2] His sister, Helen Mary, married Lord Chancellor Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham.[3]

Military career

Romer was commissioned into the Royal Dublin Fusiliers as a Second lieutenant on 1 March 1890,[4] promoted lieutenant on 23 August 1893, and captain on 19 October 1898. He served in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, and received the brevet rank of major on 29 November 1900.[5] Following the war he was seconded as an Adjutant of Volunteers in February 1902,[6] but only a few months later he was on 19 June 1902 appointed Brigade Major to the 13th Brigade, in Dublin.[7] He went on to become a General Staff Officer in 1904.[5]

In World War I, he fought on the Western Front.[5] He was General Officer Commanding 59th (2nd North Midland) Division between 1917 and 1918.[8][9]

He became General Officer Commanding 1st Division at Aldershot in 1926.[5] He was then elevated to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command in 1928 and to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command in 1931.[5] In 1933, he was appointed Adjutant-General to the Forces: he retired in 1935.[5]

References

  1. 1871 England Census
  2. "Obituary: Sir Cecil Romer – Hard Fighting in France". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 3 October 1962. p. 13.
  3. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant
  4. "No. 27051". The London Gazette. 10 February 1899. p. 869.
  5. Sir Cecil Francis Romer Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  6. "No. 27425". The London Gazette. 15 April 1902. p. 2505.
  7. "No. 27454". The London Gazette. 15 July 1902. p. 4512.
  8. University of Birmingham
  9. Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8, p. 17.
Military offices
Preceded by
Arthur Sandbach
GOC 59th (2nd North Midland) Division
1917–1918
Succeeded by
Robert Whigham
Preceded by
Archibald Montgomery
GOC 1st Infantry Division
19261928
Succeeded by
John Duncan
Preceded by
Sir Richard Butler
GOC-in-C Western Command
19281931
Succeeded by
Sir Cyril Deverell
Preceded by
Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd
GOC-in-C Southern Command
19311933
Succeeded by
Sir Percy Radcliffe
Preceded by
Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd
Adjutant General
19331935
Succeeded by
Sir Harry Knox
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.