Montague Hornby
Montague Leyland Hornby | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 July 1869 |
| Died | 21 November 1948 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1889–1927 |
| Rank | Brigadier-general |
| Unit | Indian Staff Corps |
| Commands | 8th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment 116th Infantry Brigade 39th Division 137th Infantry Brigade |
| Battles / wars |
|
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
Brigadier-General Montague Leyland Hornby, CB CMG DSO (23 July 1869 – 21 November 1948) was a senior British Army officer who was briefly General Officer Commanding 39th Division during the First World War.
Military career
[edit]Montague Leyland Hornby, born in July 1869, was educated at Shrewsbury School before entering the Royal Military College Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the East Lancashire Regiment of the British Army in January 1889, before transferring to the Indian Staff Corps in March 1892. He took part in operations in Waziristan between 1894 and 1895, being severely wounded in action at Wana and appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in the latter year.[1][2] Between 1897 and 1898 Hornby served in the Tirah campaign, after which he joined the King's African Rifles, serving in East Africa. He saw action against the Nandi Resistance in 1900. Hornby retired from the Indian Army in 1909.[3][2]
Hornby returned to military service with the British Army at the start of the First World War in 1914. Into the following year he served as brigade major of the 70th Infantry Brigade before he took command of the 8th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment. Hornby continued with the battalion until April 1916 when he was appointed to command the 116th Infantry Brigade, during which service he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1917.[2] When Brigadier-General George Cape, the acting commander of Hornby's division, the 39th Division, was killed in action on 18 March 1918, Hornby took temporary command. Major-General Edward Feetham resumed his command on 23 March, and Hornby returned to the 116th Brigade.[4][2]
With the German spring offensive ongoing, Feetham ordered a withdrawal on the same day, requiring the division to cross the river at Halle. While doing so the units were attacked by German planes and artillery, severely wounding Hornby. After recuperating he returned to his brigade in October before in November moving to command the 137th Infantry Brigade. Hornby continued in the army after the end of the war, being created a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1922 prior to his final retirement in 1927. He died in November 1948.[2]
Citations
[edit]- ^ "No. 26656". The London Gazette. 27 August 1895. p. 4862.
- ^ a b c d e Davis & Maddocks (1995), p. 152.
- ^ "No. 28250". The London Gazette. 14 May 1909. p. 3660.
- ^ "The Dead Donkeys: The Myth of the 'Château Generals' Part Six – 1918". The Big Note. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
References
[edit]- Davis, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs - General Officer Casualties of the Great War, 1914-1918. London: Leo Cooper.