Thomas Cubitt (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Thomas Astley Cubitt KCB
CMG
DSO
(9 April 1871 - 19 May 1939) was a British Army
officer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who commanded a division in the First World War and in retirement served as Governor of Bermuda
.
Cubitt was the youngest son of a family of rural gentry in Norfolk, who joined the Royal Artillery
in 1891. He requested colonial service, and spent five years in Africa, where he was involved in the creation of the West African Frontier Force and served in a number of campaigns in northern Nigeria. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner
in Somaliland
, where he mounted a series of campaigns against the Dervish State
.
He requested a transfer to the Western Front
in 1916, and commanded an infantry battalion and a brigade before being promoted to take command of 38th (Welsh) Division in early 1918. He led the division until the Armistice, with marked success. Following the war, he held a series of peacetime commands in Germany, Egypt, and England, before being made Governor of Bermuda
in 1931. He held this position until 1936, when he retired.
, near Yarmouth. Major Cubitt came from a family of rural gentry, and had attended Rugby
and Jesus College, Cambridge
before entering the Army in 1853 as an ensign in the 5th Regiment of Foot. He saw service in the Indian Mutiny before returning to England to act as adjutant
to volunteer battalions of the Norfolk Regiment, and retired from the Army in 1889. He later served as a Justice of the Peace
and chair of the local district council.
Cubitt's eldest brother, Bertram Blakiston (b. 1862), attended Balliol College, Oxford
before entering the civil service; he would later serve as the private secretary to the Conservative politicians Edward Stanhope
, Secretary of State for War
, in 1890-91, and St John Brodrick
, Under-Secretary of State for War
, in 1896-98. He was knighted in 1920. The middle brother, Julian Francis (b. 1869) studied at Selwyn College, Cambridge
, but does not appear to have had an active public career. Their one sister, Helen, married a German economist, Dr. Moritz Julius Bonn, in 1903.
Thomas Cubitt attended Haileybury
, as his brother Julian had done, but rather than attend university he studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery
in 1891. After service in India, and a course at the Staff College, Camberley
, he requested a transfer to a colonial posting. He was sent to West Africa in 1898, and appointed as commander of the artillery in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate
on its formation in 1900, alongside a promotion to Captain. Whilst in Nigeria, he was closely involved in the formation of the Nigeria Regiment in the West African Frontier Force, and saw active duty in a number of expeditions between 1900 and 1903, culminating in the command of a battalion of mounted infantry
during the Kano-Sokoto campaign of 1903. For his service in Africa, he was mentioned in despatches several times, awarded the Distinguished Service Order
, and promoted to the brevet rank of Major.
He returned to regimental duties in the United Kingdom in 1905, and from 1908 to 1911 he served as a Brigade Major
in Ireland with 3rd Cavalry Brigade.
and Officer Commanding for the Somaliland Protectorate
; after the disastrous Battle of Dul Madoba, the colonial administration was seeking to restore British control over the inland areas of the Protectorate. Cubitt planned and commanded a series of operations through the winter of 1914-15, destroying several Dervish forts. Shortly after he arrived in Somaliland, the First World War had broken out, and once the winter campaign was over he requested to be transferred to Europe; the request was granted, but it took until early 1916 for him to be replaced and make his way home. For his services in Africa, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George and a Companion of the Bath, and promoted to brevet Colonel.
Cubitt turned down the opportunity of a staff posting on the Western Front to request a front-line command, and briefly commanded the 8th (Service) Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment in early 1917 before assuming command of 57th Infantry Brigade in April. The brigade saw service at Messines
and Ypres in 1917, and in the Spring Offensive
of early 1918. He was then appointed to take command of 38th (Welsh) Division in late May or early June 1918, after its previous commander, Charles Blackader
, had fallen ill.
An officer in one of the 38th's infantry battalions, who met Cubitt in early June, shortly after he took command, described him as "a very large and fierce-looking major-general, with two rows of ribbons, and a gleam in his eye", who proceeded to interrogate a subaltern about the exact type and position of his unit's trench latrines, apparently something of a pet topic. A "fire-eater with a marvellous flow of language", it was Cubitt's manner of speech, more than anything else, which made an impact on his contemporaries; a front-line officer in 1918 described watching him, during the October offensive, clearing a traffic jam with merely "a magnificent gush of language". A colleague from his early days in the Artillery described him as a "perpetual joy to the soldier's world ... because of his picturesque language, which never gave offence because it was so absolutely natural and so aptly fitted the occasion", but under some circumstances it proved less suitable. Following a failed raid in 1918, he visited the offending battalion and harangued the officers collectively for some time, before demanding that they "damn well had to do the raid over again, and damn well see that [they] made a proper job of it, or, by God, damn well go on raiding until [they] damn well did." To the officers on the receiving end, already tired and dissatisfied, this was seen as a "contemptible exhibition" for a senior officer to make.
Regardless of his personal style, Cubitt was credited by Douglas Haig
with achieving the desired results. The 38th Division had mounted a successful but very costly attack in April 1918; under his command, it mounted two further major operations, at the Battle of Albert
in August and Battle of Cambrai
in October. Both were successful, with the division demonstrating flexibility, improvisation, and a highly effective tactical doctrine. The division's performance at Cambrai was sufficiently good to rank it as one of the most effective British divisions during the Hundred Days Offensive
.
. Shortly afterwards, in August, he was posted to take over the demobilising 54th (East Anglian) Division in Egypt, remaining with them until October, when the final units sailed for England.
In 1920, he was appointed to command the Presidency
and Assam
District in eastern India. The same year, he married Mary Grissell (neé Wood), the widow of an officer in the Norfolk Regiment. He returned to England in 1924, remaining on half-pay until he took command of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, a Territorial Army
formation, in 1927. In 1928, he transferred to the command of the 2nd Division, a regular formation, and was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1930. In 1931, he was knighted and appointed Governor of Bermuda
, holding the post for five years before retiring in 1936. He was promoted to full General in 1935, and from 1931 to his death held the ceremonial position of colonel commandant
of the Royal Artillery.
Cubitt died on 19 May 1939, leaving an estate of £19,000.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Thomas Astley Cubitt KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(9 April 1871 - 19 May 1939) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who commanded a division in the First World War and in retirement served as Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
.
Cubitt was the youngest son of a family of rural gentry in Norfolk, who joined the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1891. He requested colonial service, and spent five years in Africa, where he was involved in the creation of the West African Frontier Force and served in a number of campaigns in northern Nigeria. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner
A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...
in Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
, where he mounted a series of campaigns against the Dervish State
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
.
He requested a transfer to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in 1916, and commanded an infantry battalion and a brigade before being promoted to take command of 38th (Welsh) Division in early 1918. He led the division until the Armistice, with marked success. Following the war, he held a series of peacetime commands in Germany, Egypt, and England, before being made Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
in 1931. He held this position until 1936, when he retired.
Family and early career
Born on 9 April 1871, Thomas was the third son of Major Frank Astley Cubitt and his wife Bertha, daughter of Captain Thomas Blakiston of the Royal Navy. The family resided at Thorpe Hall in Norwich, with an estate at FrittonFritton (near Great Yarmouth)
Fritton is a village in the English county of Norfolk, situated some south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and north-west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. It should not be confused with the village of the same name near Morning Thorpe in Norfolk....
, near Yarmouth. Major Cubitt came from a family of rural gentry, and had attended Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
before entering the Army in 1853 as an ensign in the 5th Regiment of Foot. He saw service in the Indian Mutiny before returning to England to act as adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
to volunteer battalions of the Norfolk Regiment, and retired from the Army in 1889. He later served as a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and chair of the local district council.
Cubitt's eldest brother, Bertram Blakiston (b. 1862), attended Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
before entering the civil service; he would later serve as the private secretary to the Conservative politicians Edward Stanhope
Edward Stanhope
Edward Stanhope was a British Conservative Party politician.-Background and education:Born in London, Stanhope was the second son of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, by his wife Emily Harriet, daughter of General Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet...
, Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
, in 1890-91, and St John Brodrick
St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton
William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC , known as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as The Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative Party politician....
, Under-Secretary of State for War
Under-Secretary of State for War
The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...
, in 1896-98. He was knighted in 1920. The middle brother, Julian Francis (b. 1869) studied at Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
, but does not appear to have had an active public career. Their one sister, Helen, married a German economist, Dr. Moritz Julius Bonn, in 1903.
Thomas Cubitt attended Haileybury
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
, as his brother Julian had done, but rather than attend university he studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1891. After service in India, and a course at the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
, he requested a transfer to a colonial posting. He was sent to West Africa in 1898, and appointed as commander of the artillery in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
on its formation in 1900, alongside a promotion to Captain. Whilst in Nigeria, he was closely involved in the formation of the Nigeria Regiment in the West African Frontier Force, and saw active duty in a number of expeditions between 1900 and 1903, culminating in the command of a battalion of mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
during the Kano-Sokoto campaign of 1903. For his service in Africa, he was mentioned in despatches several times, awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, and promoted to the brevet rank of Major.
He returned to regimental duties in the United Kingdom in 1905, and from 1908 to 1911 he served as a Brigade Major
Brigade Major
In the British Army, a Brigade Major was the Chief of Staff of a brigade. He held the rank of Major and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section directly and oversaw the two other branches, "A - Administration" and "Q - Quartermaster"...
in Ireland with 3rd Cavalry Brigade.
First World War
In July 1914, Cubitt was appointed Deputy CommissionerDeputy Commissioner
A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...
and Officer Commanding for the Somaliland Protectorate
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
; after the disastrous Battle of Dul Madoba, the colonial administration was seeking to restore British control over the inland areas of the Protectorate. Cubitt planned and commanded a series of operations through the winter of 1914-15, destroying several Dervish forts. Shortly after he arrived in Somaliland, the First World War had broken out, and once the winter campaign was over he requested to be transferred to Europe; the request was granted, but it took until early 1916 for him to be replaced and make his way home. For his services in Africa, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George and a Companion of the Bath, and promoted to brevet Colonel.
Cubitt turned down the opportunity of a staff posting on the Western Front to request a front-line command, and briefly commanded the 8th (Service) Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment in early 1917 before assuming command of 57th Infantry Brigade in April. The brigade saw service at Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
and Ypres in 1917, and in the Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
of early 1918. He was then appointed to take command of 38th (Welsh) Division in late May or early June 1918, after its previous commander, Charles Blackader
Charles Blackader
Major-General Charles Guinand Blackader CB, DSO was a British Army officer of the First World War. He commanded an Indian brigade on the Western Front in 1915, and a Territorial brigade in Dublin during the Easter Rising of 1916, before being appointed to command the 38th Division on the Western...
, had fallen ill.
An officer in one of the 38th's infantry battalions, who met Cubitt in early June, shortly after he took command, described him as "a very large and fierce-looking major-general, with two rows of ribbons, and a gleam in his eye", who proceeded to interrogate a subaltern about the exact type and position of his unit's trench latrines, apparently something of a pet topic. A "fire-eater with a marvellous flow of language", it was Cubitt's manner of speech, more than anything else, which made an impact on his contemporaries; a front-line officer in 1918 described watching him, during the October offensive, clearing a traffic jam with merely "a magnificent gush of language". A colleague from his early days in the Artillery described him as a "perpetual joy to the soldier's world ... because of his picturesque language, which never gave offence because it was so absolutely natural and so aptly fitted the occasion", but under some circumstances it proved less suitable. Following a failed raid in 1918, he visited the offending battalion and harangued the officers collectively for some time, before demanding that they "damn well had to do the raid over again, and damn well see that [they] made a proper job of it, or, by God, damn well go on raiding until [they] damn well did." To the officers on the receiving end, already tired and dissatisfied, this was seen as a "contemptible exhibition" for a senior officer to make.
Regardless of his personal style, Cubitt was credited by Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor...
with achieving the desired results. The 38th Division had mounted a successful but very costly attack in April 1918; under his command, it mounted two further major operations, at the Battle of Albert
Battle of Albert (1918)
Battle of Albert was the third battle by that name fought during World War I, following the First Battle of Albert, and the Second Battle of Albert, with each of the series of three being fought roughly two years apart...
in August and Battle of Cambrai
Battle of Cambrai (1918)
The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
in October. Both were successful, with the division demonstrating flexibility, improvisation, and a highly effective tactical doctrine. The division's performance at Cambrai was sufficiently good to rank it as one of the most effective British divisions during the Hundred Days Offensive
Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...
.
Postwar career
Cubitt remained with the 38th Division until the end of the war, and in May 1919 was transferred to command 3rd Infantry Brigade in the British Army of the RhineBritish Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
. Shortly afterwards, in August, he was posted to take over the demobilising 54th (East Anglian) Division in Egypt, remaining with them until October, when the final units sailed for England.
In 1920, he was appointed to command the Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
District in eastern India. The same year, he married Mary Grissell (neé Wood), the widow of an officer in the Norfolk Regiment. He returned to England in 1924, remaining on half-pay until he took command of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, a Territorial Army
Territorial Army
The Territorial Army is the part time volunteer force of the British Army. With around 35,500 members, the TA forms about a quarter of the overall manpower strength of the British Army. TA members regularly volunteer to serve overseas on operations, either with TA units, or as individuals...
formation, in 1927. In 1928, he transferred to the command of the 2nd Division, a regular formation, and was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1930. In 1931, he was knighted and appointed Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
, holding the post for five years before retiring in 1936. He was promoted to full General in 1935, and from 1931 to his death held the ceremonial position of colonel commandant
Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
of the Royal Artillery.
Cubitt died on 19 May 1939, leaving an estate of £19,000.