Arthur McNamara

Arthur McNamara
Born	1877
Died	1949
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands	19th Indian Infantry Brigade Small Arms School 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division
Battles / wars	First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Edward McNamara KCB, CMG, DSO (1877–1949) was a British Army officer.

Military career

McNamara was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) as a second lieutenant on 20 February 1897,[1] and promoted to lieutenant on 29 September 1898.[2] He served as a signaling officer in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), and after the end of this war returned to a regular commission with his regiment in November 1902, with the 2nd battalion station in the Orange River Colony.[3] He was listed on the SS Nubia which left Cape Town for Southampton in December 1902,[4] and was promoted to a captain on 22 January 1903.

He saw action in the First World War for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)[5] and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).[6] Towards the end of the war he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and succeeded Brigadier General Edmund Ironside in command of the 2nd Division's 99th Infantry Brigade.[7][8]

McNamara, who in June 1919 was promoted to brevet colonel,[9] became commander of the 19th Indian Infantry Brigade in India in December 1923 and, after becoming commandant of the Small Arms School in October 1926,[10] he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1928 Birthday Honours.[11] After that he became brigadier on the general staff at Eastern Command in February 1929 and, after being promoted to major general in March 1931,[12] was General Officer Commanding 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division in May 1933 and Director of Military Training at the War Office in October 1933.[10][13] He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1938 New Year Honours[14] before retiring in August 1938.[15]

References

1. "No. 26824". The London Gazette. 19 February 1897. p. 989.
2. Hart′s Army list, 1902
3. "No. 27497". The London Gazette. 21 November 1902. p. 7535.
4. "Troops returning from South Africa". The Times. No. 36970. London. 6 January 1903. p. 4.
5. "No. 29760". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 September 1916. p. 9269.
6. "No. 30716". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1918. p. 6453.
7. "No. 30943". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 October 1918. p. 11923.
8. Ward, Fred W. (1920). The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's): A Record of its Services in the Great War, 1914-1919. Sidgwick and Jackson. pp. 77–81.
9. "No. 31395". The London Gazette. 6 June 1919. p. 7422.
10. "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
11. "No. 33390". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1928. p. 3845.
12. "No. 33695". The London Gazette. 3 March 1931. p. 1451.
13. "No. 33983". The London Gazette. 3 October 1933. p. 6356.
14. "No. 34469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1938. p. 3.
15. "No. 34542". The London Gazette. 16 August 1938. p. 5289.

Military offices
Preceded by Henry Jackson	Commandant of the Small Arms School 1926–1929	Succeeded by Robert Collins
Preceded by William Beach	GOC 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division May–October 1933	Succeeded by Hugh Elles