Thomas Jacomb Hutton
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Sir Thomas Jacomb Hutton (1890–1981), KCB
, KCIE
, MC
, was an officer in the British Army
, who held a variety of vital staff appointments between World War I
and World War II
, ultimately commanding Burma Army during the early stages of the Japanese conquest of Burma.
and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1909, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
into the Royal Artillery
. He served on the Western Front
throughout World War I, being promoted to Captain
in 1915 and brevet
Major in 1918. He became staff qualified, and served in 1918 as a General Staff Officer, Grade 3 (GSO3) and as a Brigade Major
from 1918 to 1919.
as the Assistant Military Secretary
and from 1923 to 1924 as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General
.
From 1924 to 1926, he was General Staff Officer, Grade 2 (GSO2) on the staff of Eastern Command, in the eastern counties of Britain. He was officially promoted to the full rank of Major in 1927, and from 1927 to 1930 he was the Military Assistant to Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He was "double jumped" to the rank of full Colonel
in 1930 and served from 1933 to 1936 as General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1) in the Directorate of Military Operations in the War Office.
In 1936 he served in the British forces in the British Mandate of Palestine. From 1936 to 1938 he was the GSO1 (i.e. Chief of Staff
) in the 1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom). He was promoted to Major General and appointed General Officer Commanding Western Independent District, in India.
at the time was General Archibald Wavell.
, of which Wavell was Commander in Chief.
Hutton initially ordered his subordinates to fight as close to the borders as possible. Some of them though that he was doing so on Wavell's orders, but Hutton actually wished to gain time for reinforcements to arrive. This resulted in the defeat of the ill-equipped and badly-trained Burmese and Indian formations which tried to fight close to the frontier.
Hutton now considered that Rangoon
, the capital, could not be defended. He attempted to divert reinforcements to ports further north. Wavell considered this to be defeatism, and stormed at Hutton in front of witnesses at a meeting on 28 February. He did not argue back, feeling that a dignified silence was the best rebuke. Hutton had already been superseded by General Harold Alexander as GOC of Burma Army, and appointed Alexander's Chief of Staff, an embarrassing appointment he held until Burma Army was disbanded later in the year.
During the crisis in Burma in 1942, it was felt by some senior officers (such as General Sir Alan Hartley
, the acting Commander in Chief in India), that Hutton made a good chief of staff but was not fitted for command in the field. In this respect, it was unfortunate that Hutton had held command of no major formation before being promoted to command an army.
Hutton subsequently served until 1944 as Secretary of the War Resources and Reconstruction Committees of Council, India. In 1944, he retired from the Army, although he retained the honorary post of Colonel Commandant
of the Royal Artillery until 1952.
; from 1949 to 1953, as General Manager of the Anglo-American Council on Productivity; from 1953 to 1957 as Director of the British Productivity Council, and from 1957 to 1964 as Chairman of Organisation and Methods Training Council.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir Thomas Jacomb Hutton (1890–1981), 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...
, KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, was an officer in the 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...
, who held a variety of vital staff appointments between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, ultimately commanding Burma Army during the early stages of the Japanese conquest of Burma.
Early career, and World War I
He was educated at Rossall SchoolRossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1909, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
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:...
. He served on 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...
throughout World War I, being promoted to Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in 1915 and brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major in 1918. He became staff qualified, and served in 1918 as a General Staff Officer, Grade 3 (GSO3) and 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"...
from 1918 to 1919.
Inter-war years
From 1919 to 1920 he served in the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
as the Assistant Military Secretary
Military Secretary
The Military Secretary is the British Army appointment of which the incumbent is responsible for policy direction on personnel management for members of the British Army. It is a senior British Army appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of Major-General. The Military Secretary's...
and from 1923 to 1924 as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
.
From 1924 to 1926, he was General Staff Officer, Grade 2 (GSO2) on the staff of Eastern Command, in the eastern counties of Britain. He was officially promoted to the full rank of Major in 1927, and from 1927 to 1930 he was the Military Assistant to Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He was "double jumped" to the rank of full Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in 1930 and served from 1933 to 1936 as General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1) in the Directorate of Military Operations in the War Office.
In 1936 he served in the British forces in the British Mandate of Palestine. From 1936 to 1938 he was the GSO1 (i.e. Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
) in the 1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom). He was promoted to Major General and appointed General Officer Commanding Western Independent District, in India.
World War II
In 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed Deputy Chief of General Staff, GHQ India. The following year he was promoted Lieutenant General and appointed Chief of General Staff, India. The Commander in Chief of the British Indian ArmyBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
at the time was General Archibald Wavell.
Burma Army
In 1942, he was appointed General Officer Commanding Burma Army, which was facing imminent invasion by Japanese troops. Burma Army was subordinated to the American-British-Dutch-Australian CommandAmerican-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...
, of which Wavell was Commander in Chief.
Hutton initially ordered his subordinates to fight as close to the borders as possible. Some of them though that he was doing so on Wavell's orders, but Hutton actually wished to gain time for reinforcements to arrive. This resulted in the defeat of the ill-equipped and badly-trained Burmese and Indian formations which tried to fight close to the frontier.
Hutton now considered that Rangoon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, the capital, could not be defended. He attempted to divert reinforcements to ports further north. Wavell considered this to be defeatism, and stormed at Hutton in front of witnesses at a meeting on 28 February. He did not argue back, feeling that a dignified silence was the best rebuke. Hutton had already been superseded by General Harold Alexander as GOC of Burma Army, and appointed Alexander's Chief of Staff, an embarrassing appointment he held until Burma Army was disbanded later in the year.
During the crisis in Burma in 1942, it was felt by some senior officers (such as General Sir Alan Hartley
Alan Hartley
General Sir Alan Fleming Hatley GCIE KCSI CB DSO was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:...
, the acting Commander in Chief in India), that Hutton made a good chief of staff but was not fitted for command in the field. In this respect, it was unfortunate that Hutton had held command of no major formation before being promoted to command an army.
Hutton subsequently served until 1944 as Secretary of the War Resources and Reconstruction Committees of Council, India. In 1944, he retired from the Army, although he retained the honorary post 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 until 1952.
Later career
He held a variety of Civil Posts after his retirement: from 1944 to 1946, he was Officiating Secretary, Viceroy's Executive Council in India; from 1947 to 1949, he was a Regional Officer for the Ministry of HealthDepartment of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
; from 1949 to 1953, as General Manager of the Anglo-American Council on Productivity; from 1953 to 1957 as Director of the British Productivity Council, and from 1957 to 1964 as Chairman of Organisation and Methods Training Council.
External links
- LHCMA catalogue: Papers of Lt Gen Sir Thomas Jacomb Hutton, MC, KCB, KCIE (1890-1981), King's College London Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. (URL accessed June 9, 2006)
- "By Air and Foot", 'TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, February 16, 1942. British versus Japanese, Rangoon; (archive article), URL accessed June 9, 2006)