Mowbray Thomson

Sir Mowbray Thomson
Sir Mowbray Thomson
Born	1832
Died	25 February 1917
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Indian Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Indian Mutiny
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire

Colonel Mowbray Thomson from an Afghanistan photo book with the work of John Burke (photographer), Benjamin Simpson, and others

General Sir Mowbray Thomson KCIE (1832 – 25 February 1917) was a British Indian Army officer.

Thomson was born in 1832, and travelled to India at an early age. In 1853 he joined the 53rd Bengal Native Infantry – a regiment with Indian troops and white officers - as a subaltern, and in early 1857 moved with the regiment to Cawnpore. During the Indian Mutiny, the regiment was caught up in the Siege of Cawnpore; Thomson led a small party of men in the attempt to escape, and was one of only four male survivors from the garrison.

He was invalided home, heavily wounded, and promoted to brevet-major. On returning to duty he was given a civilian post as political agent at Manipur, and later appointed Governor-General's agent for Wajid Ali Shah, the former King of Oudh. He retired in 1885, with the Army rank of major-general, and was promoted to full general in 1894.

Whilst convalescing in England, he wrote The Story of Cawnpore, published 1859, a first-hand account of the siege. He died on 25 February 1917 and was buried at All Souls Memorial Church in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources

• Obituary: p. 162, The Annual Register: a review of public events at home and abroad, for the year 1917. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1918.