Thomas Riddell-Webster

Sir Thomas Riddell-Webster

Gen. Sir Thomas Riddell-Webster
Born 12 February 1886
Died 27 May 1974 (aged 88)
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1905–1946
Rank General
Unit Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Commands held 2nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Poona (Independent) Brigade Area
Southern Command, India
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

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, Riddell-Webster was commissioned into the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) on 16 August 1905.[1][2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 September 1909 and to captain on 24 October 1913.[3][4]

He served in World War I initially as a Staff Captain (appointed 3 November 1914[5]) then as Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in France (17 July 1915[6]). He was brevetted to major on 1 January 1916.[7] On 9 July 1917, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in France and Italy, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel.[1][8]

After the war, Riddell-Webster relinquished his temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 April 1919.[9] He was promoted to the substantive rank of major and the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 3 June 1919.[10] He became a Brigade Major with Irish Command on 21 July 1921.[1][11] He was appointed Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at the Staff College in 1922, and was brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 12 March 1923.[12] He was appointed as a General Staff Officer at Scottish Command in 1926.[1] In 1930 he was made Commanding Officer of 2nd Bn Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel on 16 December of that year.[1][13] 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.[1][14]

Riddell-Webster was promoted to major-general on 1 April 1938, becoming the Director of Movements and Quartering at the War Office.[1][15] He also served in World War II, initially as Deputy Quartermaster General at the War Office (from 29 August 1939 [16]) and then as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command, India in March 1941.[1] He received the local rank of lieutenant-general on 7 January 1941, and was promoted to the substantive rank on 15 April.[17][18] He was made Lieutenant General in charge of Administration in the Middle East in 1941.[1]

He became Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1942:[1] 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.[19] He was promoted to full general on 1 November 1942.[20] He also extended the use of collars and ties to the uniforms of other ranks.[21] He retired on 27 April 1946, after nearly 41 years of service.[22]

Honours

Riddell-Webster was awarded the DSO on 18 February 1915.[23] On 12 September 1918, he was decorated as an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy.[24] He was awarded the French Croix de Guerre on 19 June 1919.[25] 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.[26][27][28] He was decorated as a Commander of the U.S. Legion of Merit on 14 May 1948.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27827. p. 5621. 15 August 1905. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28303. p. 8015. 2 November 1909. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28790. p. 185. 6 January 1914. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28981. p. 9541. 20 November 1914. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29267. p. 8245. 17 August 1915. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29438. p. 570. 11 January 1916. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30235. p. 8436. 14 August 1917. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31530. p. 10978. 29 August 1919. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 31370. p. 6815. 30 May 1919. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 32435. p. 6749. 24 August 1921. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  12. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 32815. p. 2814. 17 April 1923. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33670. p. 8078. 16 December 1930. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33955. p. 4382. 30 June 1933. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34498. p. 2153. 1 April 1938. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34701. p. 6711. 3 October 1939. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35038. p. 189. 7 January 1941. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  18. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35163. p. 2783. 13 May 1941. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  19. ↑ The Organisation and role of the Army Service Forces, by John D. Millet, Page 71
  20. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35767. p. 4747. 30 October 1942. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  21. ↑ 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
  22. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37544. p. 2035. 23 April 1946. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  23. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29074. p. 1693. 16 February 1915. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  24. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30895. p. 10745. 10 September 1918. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  25. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31409. p. 7805. 17 June 1919. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  26. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34633. p. 3854. 6 June 1939. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  27. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35399. p. 3. 30 December 1941. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  28. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27407. p. 5. 28 December 1945. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  29. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38288. p. 2917. 11 May 1948. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Riddell-Webster.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir John Brind		 GOC-in-C, Southern Command, India
March 1941 – October 1941 		Succeeded by
Sir Brodie Haig
Preceded by
Sir Walter Venning		 Quartermaster-General to the Forces
1942–1946 		Succeeded by
Sir Daril Watson
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