Charles William Thompson CB DSO

Charles Thompson, born in 1859, was Commanding Officer from March 1903 to March 1907. He was the son of a former commanding officer of the same name who held the post from 1857 until the death of his wife in 1868 (Charles William Thompson). Charles the younger joined the army in 1882 and served in the 7th DG until he was posted to Australia. When the Boer War broke out he rejoined the 7th as second in command. He distinguished himself in the war leading a cavalry charge at Armstrong's Drift in 1901. He had taken over command of the regiment when Lt-Col W Lowe was placed in charge of a column. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in command in 1903, and retired in 1907 to begin work on the regimental history, The Story of the Regiment, which was published in 1913. He was appointed Commander, Cape of Good Hope from 1913-14, GOC South Africa 1914, GOC West Africa 1917 and Colonel of the West African Regiment in 1919. He reached the rank of Major-General and died in 1940 at the age of 81.

Commanding Officers | Regimental details