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British Army general From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham, GCB, KCMG, DSO (5 August 1865 – 23 June 1950) was a Scottish British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces.
Sir Robert Whigham | |
|---|---|
General Sir Robert Whigham by Philip Alexius de László | |
| Born | 5 August 1865 Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Died | 23 June 1950 (aged 84) Fife, Scotland |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1883–1931 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Eastern Command 3rd Division Light Division British Army of the Rhine 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (4) Legion of Honour (France) |
Whigham was born on 5 August 1865, the son of David Dundas Whigham and Ellen Murray (née Campbell).[1] His father was a lawyer and a cricket player.[2] His sister was Sybil Whigham who was a successful tennis player;[1] another brother was the golfer and journalist H. J. Whigham.[3] Their sister Molly Whigham also played golf.[4]
Educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Whigham was commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a lieutenant on 9 May 1885, where the future field marshal, William Birdwood, was a fellow student.[5][6] He was promoted to captain on 3 March 1892, when he became adjutant for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and was seconded to the Egyptian Army in 1897, where he served in the Nile Expedition of 1898 with the 12th Sudanese Battalion.[5]
During the Second Boer War he served from 1899 as aide-de-camp to Major-General Hector MacDonald, in command of the Highland brigade, and was promoted to major on 1 August 1900. He was later at Army Headquarters in South Africa, and for his service was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the South Africa Honours list published on 26 June 1902.[7][5] Following the end of the war, he returned to the United Kingdom in August 1902,[8] and then became brigade major for 2nd Army Corps on 1 November 1902.[9] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1908.[10]
Whigham served in the First World War with the British Expeditionary Force.[5] Promoted to temporary major general in September 1915,[11] he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the War Office in 1915.[5] Promoted to major general in January 1916,[12] he became General Officer Commanding (GOC) 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in June 1918 and GOC 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in August.[5][13][14]
After the war Whigham became GOC of the Light Division in the British Army of the Rhine.[5] He was appointed GOC 3rd Division in 1919,[15] Adjutant-General to the Forces in 1923,[16] and GOC-in-Chief for Eastern Command in 1927.[17] He retired in 1931.[18]
In 1899 Whigham married Isabel Adeline Muntz.[5]
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