Thomas Calley (British Army officer)

British military officer and Liberal Unionist politician

Thomas Calley

"1st Life Guards"
Calley as caricatured by "Spy" (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, October 1906

Born| 28 January 1856
Bath, Somerset, England[1]
Died| 14 February 1932 (aged 76)
Allegiance| United Kingdom
Service/branch| British Army
Rank| Major-General
Commands held| 1st Life Guards
London Mounted Brigade
60th (2/2nd London) Division
Battles/wars| Second Boer War
First World War
Awards| Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Member of the Royal Victorian Order

Major-General Thomas Charles Pleydell Calley CB CBE MVO (28 January 1856 – 14 February 1932)[2] was a British military officer and Liberal Unionist politician.

## Military career[edit]

Calley was the son of Henry Calley, JP, DL, of Burderop Park, Wiltshire, and was educated at Harrow School and at Christ Church, Oxford.[3]

He joined the 1st Life Guards in 1876 and served in Egypt in 1882, where he took part in the Battle of Tel el-Kebir. In 1886 he was appointed captain, promoted to major in 1894, lieutenant-colonel in 1898,[3] and a brevet colonel in November 1900 for service in the Second Boer War in South Africa 1899–1900.[4] He was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in July 1901,[5] and served as Silver Stick in Waiting to King Edward VII during his coronation in August 1902.[6] Four months later, he was appointed in command of the 1st Life Guards,[7] serving asu such until 1906, during which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1905. He went on to become a brigade commander of the London Mounted Brigade (1908–12).[3]

He was elected at the January 1910 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cricklade, winning the seat from the sitting Liberal MP John Massie. However, at the general election in December 1910, he narrowly lost the seat to another Liberal candidate and did not stand for Parliament again.[8] He was General Officer Commanding 60th (2/2nd London) Division from October 1914 to December 1915 during the First World War.[9]

## Family[edit]

Calley married, in 1883, Emily Chappell, daughter of T. D. Chappell, of Teddington. They had one daughter.[10]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "We remember Thomas Charles Pleydell Calley". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
2. ^ "House of Commons constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. ^ a b c "CALLEY, Hon. Maj.-Gen. Thomas Charles Pleydell", Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007
4. ^ "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6304.
5. ^ "No. 27336". The London Gazette. 23 July 1901. p. 4837.
6. ^ "The Coronation". The Times. No. 36834\. London. 31 July 1902. p. 8.
7. ^ "No. 27502". The London Gazette. 9 December 1902. p. 8511.
8. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 415\. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
9. ^ Becke, Maj A.F. History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. pp. 25-32
10. ^ "Copy of an agreement between Chappel & Co. Ltd., of 49-50 New Bond Street, London". National Archives. Retrieved 27 June 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomas Calley
* Portraits of Major-General Thomas Charles Pleydell Calley in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

John Massie

|  Member of Parliament for Cricklade
January 1910 – December 1910 | Succeeded by

Richard Lambert

Military offices
New title |  GOC 60th (2/2nd London) Division
1914–1915  | Succeeded by

Edward Bulfin

This article about a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (since 1801), for an English constituency is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template