George Thesiger

Major-General George Handcock Thesiger (6 October 1868 – 27 September 1915) was a senior officer in the British Army during the First World War who was killed in action during the Battle of Loos by German shellfire. His career had encompassed military service in Egypt, South Africa, Ireland, British India and France and had been rewarded with membership in two chivalric orders. Early career Thesiger was born in October 1868 into the Thesiger family, the son of Lieutenant General Charles Wemyss Thesiger and Charlotte Elizabeth Handcock. He was the middle of three children, with one older sister, Ethel Mary, and one younger brother, Gerald. He was the grandson of the politician Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford and nephew of Major-General Frederic Thesiger and the judge Alfred Henry Thesiger. Thesiger was educated at Eton College before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst for training as an infantry officer. Aged 22, Thesiger was Gazetted into the Rifle Brigade as a second lieutenant on 19 March 1890, and served with his unit in England until 1898, when the regiment was dispatched to Egypt. During his service in England he was promoted to lieutenant on 10 February 1892, and to captain on 26 July 1897. In Egypt, the Rifle Brigade served on the Nile expedition under Horatio Kitchener during the Mahdist War and was present at the Battle of Omdurman which decided the campaign. Thesiger received a brevet appointment as major on 16 November 1898 for his service. The Rifle Brigade was then briefly stationed in Crete during operations to maintain peace between Turkish and Greek populations on the island. In October 1899, Thesiger and the second battalion were sent for service in South Africa in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Second Boer War. There Thesiger saw action and was badly wounded during the battle at Wagon Hill during the Siege of Ladysmith on 6 January 1900. He was mentioned in dispatches for his conduct during the engagement, and received a brevet appointment as lieutenant-colonel in the South African honours list on 29 November 1900.