Percy Thuillier Westmorland Explained

Honorific Prefix:Lieutenant-Colonel
Percy Thuillier Westmorland
Honorific Suffix:CMG DSO
Birth Date:25 July 1863
Death Date:4 June 1929
Birth Place:Kensington, London, England
Death Place:London, England
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Awards:CMG
DSO
Mentioned in despatches x3

Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Thuillier Westmorland (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

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]

Notes and References

  1. Obituary in The Times, Lieut.-Colonel Westmorland, 7 June 1929, p.19
  2. Web site: PT Westmorland | Old Wellingtonian Lodge no. 3404 – Masonic Lodge. 1 April 2018. owl3404.org.
  3. Web site: Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. 15 June 2019. Kelly's Directories. 15 June 2019. Google Books.
  4. Web site: Christmas Truce Story: Ordered to Kill Each Other, British Captain and German Baron Shared Beer Instead. Heziel. Pitogo. 26 December 2015. 15 June 2019.
  5. Book: Taylor, Miles. Empress: Queen Victoria and India. 2 October 2018. Yale University Press. 9780300243420. 15 June 2019. Google Books.
  6. Web site: Page 329 – The-VC-and-DSO-Volume-II. lib.militaryarchive.co.uk. 15 June 2019.
  7. Web site: Ancestry – Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records. ancestry.co.uk. 15 June 2019.