General Sir Mowbray Thomson (1832 – 25 February 1917) was a British Army officer.
He 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.
References[]
- 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.
The original article can be found at Mowbray Thomson and the edit history here.