Sir Thompson Capper | |
|---|---|
 Sir Thompson Capper | |
| Born | 20 October 1863 Lucknow, British India |
| Died | 27 September 1915 (aged 51) Loos, France |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1882–1915 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | East Lancashire Regiment General Staff |
| Commands held | 7th Division |
| Battles/wars | Chitral Relief Force Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Mention in dispatches (2) |
Major General Sir Thompson Capper, KCMG, CB, DSO (20 October 1863 – 27 September 1915) was a highly decorated and senior British Army officer who served with distinction in the Second Boer War and was a divisional commander during the First World War. At the Battle of Loos in 1915, Capper was shot by a sniper as he reconnoitered the front line during an assault by his division on German positions. He died the next day in a casualty clearing station from wounds to both lungs; his grave is in the nearby Lillers Communal Cemetery.
Capper was an active and vigorous soldier who had been wounded just six months before his death in an accidental grenade detonation. Shortly before this wound he had been knighted by King George V for his service in command of his division during the First Battle of Ypres. Field Marshal Sir John French commented upon his death that "he was a most distinguished and capable leader and his death will be severely felt."[1] He was also a keen military historian and his collected papers are currently stored at the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College London.
- ^ Sir John French's Ninth Despatch, The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 9 July 2007 Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine