Percy Thuillier Westmorland


Percy Thuillier Westmorland

Born25 July 1863
Kensington, London, England
Died4 June 1929
London, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
AwardsCMG
DSO
Mentioned in despatches x3

Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Thuillier Westmorland CMG DSO (25 July 1863 – 4 June 1929) commanded the 10th Battalion, London Regiment, and the 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade during World War I.[1][2] For his dedication to service during his army career he was three times mentioned in despatches and made CMG and DSO.[1]

After the war, Westmorland retired from the army and went into business with Sir Henry Lunn, one of the founders of Lunn Poly, and became a director of the Palace Hotel and Grand Hôtel des Alpes, Mürren, and the Palace Hotel, Montana.[1]

Westmorland's maternal grandfather was Sir Henry Thuillier who served as Surveyor General of India.[1] His brother in law was Brigadier-General Clifton Inglis Stockwell, the British officer who initiated the 1914 Christmas truce football match at Frelinghien with Baron Maximilian von Sinner.[3][4]

Life

[edit]

Percy Thuillier Westmorland was born in Kensington on 25 July 1863, the son of Colonel Isaac Peat Westmorland and Rose Julia Westmorland (née Thuillier).[1] Westmorland's mother was the eldest daughter of Sir Henry Thuillier who was Surveyor General of India and responsible for introducing the first national postage stamp to India.[1][5] His first cousin was Brigadier-General Charles Henry Westmorland CB.

Westmorland was educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[1] In 1882 he was commissioned into the Bedfordshire Regiment transferring to the West India Regiment in 1892.[1] Westmorland saw service in the Gambia Expedition against Fodey Silah in 1894, where he was mentioned in despatches, and in the Ashanti Expedition of 1895–96.[1]

In the Second Boer War, Westmorland served as staff officer at Glencoe and was afterwards in command at St Helena.[1] In 1901 he served in a further expedition in Gambia before joining the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the Zakka Khel and Mommand Expeditions of 1908 where he was again mentioned in despatches and made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order.[1][6]

Westmorland retired from the army in 1912 but rejoined on the commencement of World War I.[1] He went to France in 1915 where he commanded the 10th Battalion, London Regiment, and the 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade.[1] For his dedication to service he was once again mentioned in despatches and made CMG.[1]

After the war, Westmorland retired from the army and went into business with Sir Henry Lunn, one of the founders of Lunn Poly, and became a director of the Palace Hotel and Grand Hôtel des Alpes, Mürren, and the Palace Hotel, Montana.[1]

In 1902, Westmorland married Olivia Amelia Hale in Kensington.[7] He died on 4 June 1929.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Obituary in The Times, Lieut.-Colonel Westmorland, 7 June 1929, p.19
  2. ^ "PT Westmorland | Old Wellingtonian Lodge no. 3404 – Masonic Lodge". owl3404.org. 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage". Kelly's Directories. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Pitogo, Heziel (26 December 2015). "Christmas Truce Story: Ordered to Kill Each Other, British Captain and German Baron Shared Beer Instead". Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  5. ^ Taylor, Miles (2 October 2018). Empress: Queen Victoria and India. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300243420. Retrieved 15 June 2019 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Page 329 – The-VC-and-DSO-Volume-II". lib.militaryarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Ancestry – Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2019.