Thomas Calley

Major-General Thomas Charles Pleydell Calley CB CBE MVO (28 January 1856 – 14 February 1932)[1] was a British military officer and Liberal Unionist politician.

Thomas Calley
"1st Life Guards"
Calley as caricatured by "Spy" (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, October 1906
Born28 January 1856
Died14 February 1932
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
RankMajor-General
Commands held1st Life Guards
London Mounted Brigade
60th (2/2nd London) Division
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Member of the Royal Victorian Order

Military career

Calley was the son of Henry Calley, JP, DL, of Burderop Park, Wiltshire, and was educated at Harrow School and at Christ Church, Oxford.[2]

He joined the 1st Life Guards in 1876 and served in Egypt in 1882, where he took part in the Battle of Tel el-Kebir. In 1886 he was appointed captain, promoted to major in 1894, lieutenant-colonel in 1898,[2] and a brevet colonel in November 1900 for service in the Second Boer War in South Africa 1899–1900.[3] He was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in July 1901,[4] and served as Silver Stick in Waiting to King Edward VII during his coronation in August 1902.[5] Four months later, he was appointed in command of the 1st Life Guards,[6] serving asu such until 1906, during which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1905. He went on to become a brigade commander of the London Mounted Brigade (1908–12).[2]

He was elected at the January 1910 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cricklade, winning the seat from the sitting Liberal MP John Massie. However, at the general election in December 1910, he narrowly lost the seat to another Liberal candidate and did not stand for Parliament again.[7] He was General Officer Commanding 60th (2/2nd London) Division from October 1914 to December 1915 during the First World War.[8]

Family

Calley married, in 1883, Emily Chappell, daughter of T. D. Chappell, of Teddington. They had one daughter.[9]

References
  1. "House of Commons constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "CALLEY, Hon. Maj.-Gen. Thomas Charles Pleydell", Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007
  3. "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6304.
  4. "No. 27336". The London Gazette. 23 July 1901. p. 4837.
  5. "The Coronation". The Times. No. 36834. London. 31 July 1902. p. 8.
  6. "No. 27502". The London Gazette. 9 December 1902. p. 8511.
  7. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 415. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  8. Becke, Maj A.F. 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, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. pp. 25-32
  9. "Copy of an agreement between Chappel & Co. Ltd., of 49-50 New Bond Street, London". National Archives. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.