Sir

Thomas Riddell-Webster
Born12 February 1886
St Andrews, Fife, Scotland[1]
Died27 May 1974 (aged 88)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1905–1946
RankGeneral
Service number1505
UnitCameronians
Commands held2nd Battalion, Cameronians
Poona (Independent) Brigade Area
Southern Command, India
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order[2]

General Sir Thomas Sheridan Riddell-Webster GCB DSO (12 February 1886 – 27 May 1974) was Quartermaster-General to the Forces during the Second World War.

Military career

Educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Riddell-Webster was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) on 16 August 1905.[3][4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 September 1909 and to captain on 24 October 1913.[5][6]

He served in World War I initially as a staff captain (appointed 3 November 1914[7]) then as deputy assistant adjutant and quartermaster general in France (17 July 1915[8]). He was brevetted to major on 1 January 1916.[9] On 9 July 1917, he was appointed assistant adjutant and quartermaster general in France and Italy, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel.[3][10]

After the war, Riddell-Webster relinquished his temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 April 1919.[11] He was promoted to the substantive rank of major and the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 3 June 1919.[12] He became a Brigade Major with Irish Command on 21 July 1921.[3][13] He was appointed Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at the Staff College in 1922, and was brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 12 March 1923.[14] After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1924 to 1925, he was appointed as a General Staff Officer at Scottish Command in 1926.[3] In 1930 he was made Commanding Officer of 2nd Bn Cameronians, and promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel on 16 December of that year.[3][15] He was promoted to colonel on 27 June 1933, became Assistant Quartermaster General at the War Office that year and became Commander Poona (Independent) Brigade Area in 1935.[3][16]

Riddell-Webster was promoted to major-general on 1 April 1938, becoming the Director of Movements and Quartering at the War Office.[3][17] He also served in World War II, initially as Deputy Quartermaster General at the War Office (from 29 August 1939[18]) and then as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command, India in March 1941.[3] He received the local rank of lieutenant-general on 7 January 1941, and was promoted to the substantive rank on 15 April.[19][20] He was made Lieutenant General in charge of Administration in the Middle East in 1941.[3]

He became Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1942:[3] he had a key role in establishing a ground supply route to China from Assam through Burma: the rehabilitation of occupied and liberated territories was a key issue at the time.[21] He was promoted to full general on 1 November 1942.[22] He also extended the use of collars and ties to the uniforms of other ranks.[23] He retired on 27 April 1946, after nearly 41 years of service.[24]

In 1946 he was given the colonelcy of the Cameronians, a position he held until 1951.[25]

Honours

Riddell-Webster was awarded the DSO on 18 February 1915.[2] On 12 September 1918, he was decorated as an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy.[26] He was awarded the French Croix de Guerre on 19 June 1919.[27] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, Military Division (CB) in the 1939 Birthday Honours, knighted as a Knight Commander (KCB) in the 1942 New Year Honours and promoted to Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in the 1946 New Year Honours.[28][29][30] He was decorated as a Commander of the US Legion of Merit on 14 May 1948.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Life story: Thomas Sheridan Riddell-Webster | Lives of the First World War". livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk.
  2. 1 2 "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1693.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives - King's Collections / Archive Catalogues". archives.kingscollections.org.
  4. ↑ "No. 27827". The London Gazette. 15 August 1905. p. 5621.
  5. ↑ "No. 28303". The London Gazette. 2 November 1909. p. 8015.
  6. ↑ "No. 28790". The London Gazette. 6 January 1914. p. 185.
  7. ↑ "No. 28981". The London Gazette. 20 November 1914. p. 9541.
  8. ↑ "No. 29267". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 August 1915. p. 8245.
  9. ↑ "No. 29438". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1916. p. 570.
  10. ↑ "No. 30235". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 1917. p. 8436.
  11. ↑ "No. 31530". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 August 1919. p. 10978.
  12. ↑ "No. 31370". The London Gazette. 30 May 1919. p. 6815.
  13. ↑ "No. 32435". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1921. p. 6749.
  14. ↑ "No. 32815". The London Gazette. 17 April 1923. p. 2814.
  15. ↑ "No. 33670". The London Gazette. 16 December 1930. p. 8078.
  16. ↑ "No. 33955". The London Gazette. 30 June 1933. p. 4382.
  17. ↑ "No. 34498". The London Gazette. 1 April 1938. p. 2153.
  18. ↑ "No. 34701". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 October 1939. p. 6711.
  19. ↑ "No. 35038". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1941. p. 189.
  20. ↑ "No. 35163". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 May 1941. p. 2783.
  21. ↑ "The Organisation and role of the Army Service Forces, by John D. Millet, Page 71".
  22. ↑ "No. 35767". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 October 1942. p. 4747.
  23. ↑ The British army and the people's war 1939–1945 By Jeremy A. Crang, Page 61 Manchester University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-7190-4741-1
  24. ↑ "No. 37544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1946. p. 2035.
  25. ↑ "The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. ↑ "No. 30895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 September 1918. p. 10745.
  27. ↑ "No. 31409". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 1919. p. 7805.
  28. ↑ "No. 34633". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1939. p. 3854.
  29. ↑ "No. 35399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1941. p. 3.
  30. ↑ "No. 27407". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1945. p. 5.
  31. ↑ "No. 38288". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1948. p. 2917.

Bibliography

  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
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