Robert Whigham Explained

Sir Robert Whigham
Birth Date:5 August 1865
Birth Place:Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
Death Place:Fife, Scotland
Allegiance:United Kingdom
Branch:British Army
Serviceyears: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:
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)

General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham, (5 August 1865 – 23 June 1950) was a Scottish British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces.

Early life

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; another brother was the golfer and journalist H. J. Whigham.[3] Their sister Molly Whigham also played golf.[4]

Military career

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] 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.[5] Following the end of the war, he returned to the United Kingdom in August 1902,[6] and then became brigade major for 2nd Army Corps on 1 November 1902.

Whigham served in the First World War with the British Expeditionary Force.[5] He was appointed Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the War Office in 1915.[5] He became General Officer Commanding (GOC) 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in June 1918 and GOC 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in August.[5] [7] [8]

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,[9] Adjutant-General to the Forces in 1923,[10] and GOC-in-Chief for Eastern Command in 1927.[11] He retired in 1931.[12]

Family

In 1899 Whigham married Isabel Adeline Muntz.[5]

References

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Notes and References

  1. "Death of Capt. Nicholson, R. N. at Sidmouth" Western Times (12 February 1932).
  2. http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/23371.html "England/Players/David Whigham"
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=OJZAAQAAMAAJ&dq=H.+J.+Whigham+sister&pg=PA97 "Success of Younger Element in Women's Golf Championship"
  4. "Golf: The Ladies' Championship" Leeds Mercury (May 17, 1900): 6. via Newspapers.com
  5. http://www.angloboerwar.com/index.php?option=com_grid&gid=22_uw_0&p=55 Anglo Boer War
  6. The War – Return of Troops . 9 August 1902 . 11 . 36842.
  7. Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007,, pp. 17, 41
  8. Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 4: The Army Council, GHQs, Armies, and Corps 1914–1918, London: HM Stationery Office, 1944/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007,, p. 2.
  9. http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands
  10. http://www.rafbf.org/OneStopCMS/Core/CrawlerResourceServer.aspx?resource=E3B30BF1-C4DC-4490-B29C-84CEDED97501&mode=link&guid=84f89450804344e9952a323006a5857a An account of the unveiling of the Royal Air Force Memorial 16 July 1923
  11. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1927/1927%20-%200628.html Flight Global
  12. Whitaker's Almanack 1931