{{Short description|British Army general (1865–1925)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{EngvarB|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] |name= Sir Thomas Morland |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|KCMG|DSO}} |image= LtGen T Morland.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|df=y|1865|08|09}} |birth_place= [[Montreal]], [[Canada East]] |death_date= {{death date and age|df=y|1925|05|21|1865|08|09}} |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= [[United Kingdom]] |branch= [[British Army]] |service_years= 1884–1923 |rank= [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] |service_number= |unit= [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]] |commands= [[British Army of the Rhine]]<br/>[[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]]<br/>[[X Corps (United Kingdom)|X Corps]]<br/>[[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|5th Division]]<br/>[[14th (Light) Division|14th Division]]<br/>[[47th (1/2nd London) Division|2nd London Division]]<br/>[[2nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Infantry Brigade]]<br/>[[Royal West African Frontier Force|West African Field Force]] |battles= [[First World War]] |awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] |relations= |other_work= }} [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|KCMG|DSO}} (9 August 1865 – 21 May 1925) was a senior [[British Army]] officer who served as a distinguished division and corps commander during the [[World War I|First World War]], most notably as commander of [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|X Corps]] during the [[First day on the Somme|first day]] of the [[Battle of the Somme]] in July 1916.
==Early life== Born in [[Montreal]], [[Canada East]],<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Michel Veyron, Dictionnaire canadien des noms propres, p.449</ref> Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante. Educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], Morland was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] into the [[King's Royal Rifle Corps]] in August 1884.<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-35109 |title=Thomas Morland |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/35109 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25389|page=3831|date=22 August 1884}}</ref>
==Early life and military career== He attended the [[Staff College, Camberley]], from 1891 to 1892, earning his [[Psc (military)|psc]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fK4aAAAAMAAJ&dq=t+l+n+morland+staff+College&pg=PA118|title=Hart's Annual Army List, Militia List, and Imperial Yeomanry List|date=1899}}</ref>{{sfn|Thompson|2015|p=356}} In February 1895 he was seconded for service on the staff<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26629|page=3083|date=28 May 1895}}</ref> and appointed [[aide-de-camp]] to General Sir [[Arthur Lyon Fremantle]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26624|page=2776|date=14 May 1895}}</ref> He served in West Africa and was granted the temporary rank of major while so employed.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26936|page=769|date=8 February 1898}}</ref>
==Service in West Africa== Morland, who in July 1899 was promoted to brevet major,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27096|page=4211|date=7 July 1899}}</ref> later served in [[Nigeria]], reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and being appointed [[commanding officer]] of the [[Royal West African Frontier Force|West African Field Force]] in 1900.<ref name=odnb/> The following year, after being promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel in January 1901,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27266|page=308|date=15 January 1901}}</ref> he was in command of an expedition to [[Yola, Nigeria|Yola]], leading to the defeat and deposition of the Emir of [[Adamawa Emirate|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 [[Mentioned in Despatches|despatch]] describing the expedition, the acting High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria gave him "very great credit for the successful issue of this important expedition."<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27426 |pages=2585–2587 |date=18 April 1902}}</ref> The following year he was appointed a Companion of the [[Distinguished Service Order]] (DSO) in recognition of his services (dated 25 April 1902).<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27428 |page=2759 |date=25 April 1902}}</ref> In 1902 he was appointed commander of the forces in Northern Nigeria, and served as advisor to the French and British commissioners appointed for [[National boundary delimitation|boundary delimitation]] in the area.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The delimitation of Northern Nigeria |date=1 December 1902 |page=6 |issue=36939| }}</ref> He led a British force to victory in the [[Battle of Kano]] in February 1903.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68724440|title=Capture of Kano|newspaper=West Gippsland Gazette|location=Warragul, Victoria|date=19 May 1903 |accessdate=27 August 2015 |page=6|edition=Morning|publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in May 1904.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27673|page=2843|date=3 May 1904}}</ref>
In September 1905 he was appointed inspector general of the [[Royal West African Frontier Force|West African Field Force]] and for which he was granted the local rank of brigadier general while so employed.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27839|page=6474|date=26 September 1905}}</ref><ref name=odnb/> For this appointment he was granted the substantive rank of colonel.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27842|page=6706|date=6 October 1905}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27846|page=7014|date=20 October 1905}}</ref> He completed this assignment in September 1909 and was then again placed on half-pay.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28297|page=7567|date=15 October 1909}}</ref>
==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 (United Kingdom)|2nd Infantry Brigade]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28384|page=4175|date=14 June 1910}}</ref> a position he held until the outbreak of the First World War.<ref name=odnb/> In March 1913 he was promoted to major general, while still commanding the brigade.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28710|page=2724|date=15 April 1913}}</ref>{{sfn|Thompson|2015|p=356}}
Morland then became [[general officer commanding]] (GOC) [[47th (1/2nd London) Division|2nd London Division]] in August 1914,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28921|page=7787|date=29 September 1914|supp=y}}</ref> the month of the [[British entry into World War I]], then GOC of [[14th (Light) Division]] in September 1914<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28930|page=8017|date=6 October 1914|supp=y}}</ref> and finally GOC of the [[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|5th Division]], then serving on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], in October 1914.<ref name=odnb/> He soon saw action with his new command during the [[First Battle of Ypres]] which lasted until late November. The division then participated in the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] in April 1915.
He was made a KCB in June 1915 "for services rendered in connection with Military Operations in the Field".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29202|page=6111|date=22 June 1915|supp=y}}</ref> and was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general in July,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29267|page=8247|date=17 August 1915|supp=y}}</ref> and commanded [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|X Corps]] from then through to April 1918.<ref name=odnb/> During this time, he was one of General [[Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet|Sir Henry Rawlinson]]'s [[Fourth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourth Army]] corps commanders at the [[Battle of the Somme]] in 1916 and one of General [[Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer|Sir Herbert Plumer]]'s corps commanders at the [[Battle of Messines (1917)|Battle of Messines]] in 1917.<ref name=odnb/>
==Post-war and final years== [[File:Army of Occupation commanders.jpg|thumb|left|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,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30450|page=8|date=28 December 1919|supp=y}}</ref> took command of [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]]. In August he became colonel of the [[Suffolk Regiment]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31570|page=11974|date=26 September 1919|supp=y}}</ref>
He held the command of XIII Corps until 1920,<ref name=odnb/> when he was promoted and made [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[British Army of the Rhine]], in succession to General [[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet|Sir William Robertson]].<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31822|page=3260|date=12 March 1920|supp=y}}</ref> Two years later, in March 1922, he was appointed [[General Officer Commanding]]-in-Chief of [[Aldershot Command]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32641|page=2217|date=16 March 1922|supp=y}}</ref> and, after succeeding General [[Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet|Sir Charles Monro]] as [[aide-de-camp general]] to King [[George V]] in June,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32725|page=4924|date=30 June 1922}}</ref> was promoted to full general in November.<ref name=odnb/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32767|page=8035|date=14 November 1922}}</ref> He retired the following year, in 1923.<ref name=odnb/> In January 1925 he was appointed [[colonel commandant]] of the 1st Battalion, KRRC.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33028|page=1698|date=10 March 1925}}</ref>
Morland died at the age of 59 on 21 May 1925 and was buried in the English cemetery at [[Montreux|Villeneuve, Montreux]].<ref name=odnb/>{{sfn|Thompson|2015|p=357}}
==Family== In 1890, Morland married Mabel St. John, with whom he had two daughters.<ref name=odnb/>
==In popular culture== Morland was portrayed by Eric Carte in the 2006 [[BBC]] [[docudrama]] ''[[The Somme - From Defeat to Victory]]''.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Bill|title=Morland - Great War Corps Commander: War Diaries & Letters, 1914-1918|year=2015|publisher=Troubador Publishing|isbn=978-1784622787|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKn9CQAAQBAJ}}
{{s-start}} {{S-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[[Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet|Charles Monro]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[47th (1/2nd London) Division|GOC 2nd London Division]]|years=August–September 1914}} {{s-aft|after=[[Charles St Leger Barter|Sir Charles Barter]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet|Sir Charles Fergusson]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|GOC 5th Division]]|years=1914–1915}} {{s-aft|after=[[Charles Kavanagh]]}} |- {{s-new|command}} {{s-ttl|title=[[X Corps (United Kingdom)|GOC X Corps]]|years=1915–1918}} {{s-aft|after=[[William Peyton]]}} |- {{Succession box|title=[[British Army of the Rhine|C-in-C British Army of the Rhine]]|years=1920–1922|before=[[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet|Sir William Robertson]]|after=[[Alexander Godley|Sir Alexander Godley]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan|The Earl of Cavan]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Aldershot Command|GOC-in-C Aldershot Command]]|years=1922–1923}} {{s-aft|after=[[Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode|Sir Philip Chetwode]]}} |- {{s-hon}} {{s-bef|before=[[Thomas Snow (British Army officer)|Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Suffolk Regiment|Colonel of the Suffolk Regiment]]|years=1919–1925}} {{s-aft|after=[[John Ponsonby (British Army officer)|Sir John Ponsonby]]}} {{S-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morland, Thomas}} [[Category:1865 births]] [[Category:1925 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Montreal]] [[Category:British Army generals of World War I]] [[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]] [[Category:King's Royal Rifle Corps officers]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]] [[Category:Royal West African Frontier Force officers]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] [[Category:British expatriates in Nigeria]] [[Category:People from colonial Nigeria]] [[Category:British Army generals]] [[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]] [[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]