1. Herbert Lumsden commanded the 1st Armoured Division in the Western Desert campaign, and later commanded X Corps at the Second Battle of El Alamein, before being relieved by his superior, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery.
19 Facts About Herbert Lumsden
1. 2.
Herbert Lumsden was killed in action by the Japanese in early 1945, becoming the most senior combat casualty of the British Army of the Second World War.
3.
Herbert Lumsden was born in Santiago, Chile, on 8 April 1897, the son of John and Anna Lumsden, nee Dimalow.
4.
Herbert Lumsden was sent to England and was educated at The Leys School.
5.
Herbert Lumsden served in the ranks with the Territorial Force for ten months before passing into the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery on 13 August 1916.
6.
On 26 July 1918 Lumsden was awarded the Military Cross.
7.
Herbert Lumsden invariably showed the greatest coolness and courage in the face of danger, keeping his section in action, and always volunteering for any officer's patrol work.
8.
On 19 April 1923, Herbert Lumsden married Alice Mary Roddick in Northaw.
9.
Herbert Lumsden continued to serve in the Royal Artillery until 24 June 1925, when he transferred to the cavalry regiment 12th Royal Lancers.
10.
In 1929, Herbert Lumsden attended and passed the Staff College, Camberley course.
11.
Herbert Lumsden was still in command of the regiment, now converted to armoured cars, at the outbreak of the Second World War.
12.
Herbert Lumsden was widely praised for his command of his regiment during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force.
13.
Montgomery felt upstaged by the lower ranked Herbert Lumsden, who had acted without orders and the relationship between the two men deteriorated from this point on.
14.
Herbert Lumsden was appointed commander of X Corps for the Second Battle of El Alamein upon the recommendation of Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, who turned the command down in his favour.
15.
Herbert Lumsden wanted to pull his tanks back and send them into battle once the assault of infantry and engineers had taken place as originally planned.
16.
The relationship between the two men was worse than ever, and Herbert Lumsden demanded that his armour should be pulled back whilst Montgomery insisted the attack continue.
17.
Herbert Lumsden asked one of his tank commanders, Major-General Alexander Gatehouse, commanding the 10th Armoured Division, to back him up.
18.
Herbert Lumsden was replaced by Horrocks, who had previously recommended Herbert Lumsden to Montgomery, while Gatehouse was removed from command.
19.
Herbert Lumsden was the subject of obituaries in Time magazine and in The Times.