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Malcolm Orme Little

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Brigadier-General

Malcolm Orme Little

CB CBE
Born(1857-11-29)29 November 1857
Paddington, Middlesex, England
Died1 February 1931(1931-02-01) (aged 73)
AllegianceBritish Crown
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1877–1917
RankBrigadier-General
Unit9th Queen's Royal Lancers
Commands9th Queen's Royal Lancers
3rd Cavalry Brigade
2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
World War I
Spouse(s)Iris Hermione Brassey
ChildrenMalcolm Archibald Albert Little
RelationsGeneral Sir Archibald Little, KCB (father)

Brigadier-General Malcolm Orme Little, CB, CBE (29 November 1857 – 1 February 1931) was a cavalry officer in the British Army and champion polo player. He commanded a cavalry brigade in the Second Boer War and a yeomanry brigade in the First World War.

Early life

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Malcolm Orme Little was born on 29 November 1857[1] at Sussex Square, Hyde Park Gardens, Paddington, Middlesex, England, he was the second son of General Sir Archibald Little, KCB and his wife Jane (née Orme).[2]

Military career

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He obtained his first commission as an infantry second-lieutenant in the Royal North Gloucester Militia[a] on 26 September 1877.[4] On 11 May 1878, he obtained a regular commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 17th Lancers[1] after graduating from the Royal Military College. He had been an Honorary Queen's Cadet.[5] On the same date, he resigned his Militia Commission.[6] On 19 October 1878, he transferred to the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers,[7] his father's regiment.[8] On the same date, the 9th Lancers departed Sialkot, India to take part in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.[9]

Little remained with the 9th Lancers for the rest of the century: he was promoted to lieutenant on 25 February 1880,[10] to captain on 20 October 1886,[11] to Major on 5 September 1894,[12] and to lieutenant-colonel (and to command of the regiment) on 15 March 1900.[13] By this time, the 9th Lancers were on active service in the Second Boer War.[14] The regiment formed part of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade[14] and took part in the battles of Modder River (28 November 1899) and Magersfontein (10-11 December 1899), Relief of Kimberley and Battle of Paardeberg.[8] He was mentioned in despatches from Lord Methuen dated 15 February 1900[15] and Lord Roberts dated 31 March 1900.[16] Little took over command of the brigade[17] and was promoted to the local rank of brigadier-general in South Africa on 10 July 1900.[18][b] He was awarded a Brevet Colonelcy on 29 November 1900[20] and his local rank was confirmed on 8 April 1902,[21][c] when he took command of another brigade (possibly the Australian Brigade), which moved to Aberfeldy in the Orange River Colony.[22] He was again mentioned in a despatch on 23 June 1902, this time by Lord Kitchener, who wrote that Little had "proved himself as a capable leader of mounted troops in the field."[23] The war ended with the Peace of Vereeniging in late May 1902, and Little left Cape Town the following month arriving at Southampton in late July.[24]

After four years in command of the 9th Lancers, and having served the normal period in command, Little was retired on half-pay – for the first time – on 15 March 1904.[25] On 24 June 1904, as part of Edward VII's Birthday Honours, he was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[26] He was recalled to active service on 4 May 1905 as a Staff Officer for Imperial Yeomanry and was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel.[27] He retired for the second time on 17 October 1908.[28]

With the outbreak of the First World War, Colonel Little was once again recalled to active service. On 18 September 1914 he was temporarily appointed as an Inspector of Remounts.[29] On 20 January 1915, he was appointed as brigade commander,[30] of the second line yeomanry 2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade under the command of the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division in the Newcastle area of Northumberland.[31] In April 1916, the brigade joined the 1st Mounted Division in East Anglia[32] but by July it had left for the Morpeth, Northumberland area.[33][d] At this time he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier-general.[35] On 13 June 1917 he relinquished his command,[36] and retired for the third and final time and was granted the honorary rank of brigadier-general in August 1917.[37]

Polo

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Little won the International Polo Cup in 1886 for Britain alongside John Henry Watson, Captain Thomas Hone, and Captain the Hon. Richard Lawley, 4th Baron Wenlock.[38][39]

Personal life

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Little married Iris Hermione Brassey[40] (10 November 1879[41] or 1880[42] – 6 August 1970), the daughter of Albert Brassey and the Hon. Matilda Maria Helena Bingham,[43] on 7 July 1903 at St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster, London.[2] He was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) later.[43] On 19 January 1923, Little was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Warwick.[44]

Little's son, Malcolm Archibald Albert Little (1904–1944), was a colonel in the 9th Lancers, and a strong polo player. Another son, Ian Little, was a leading economist.

Death

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Brigadier-General Malcolm Orme Little, CB, CBE died on 1 February 1931 at his home 'Dunsmore', Rugby, Warwickshire.[43]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Royal North Gloucester became 4th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment on 1 July 1881 and was disbanded on 31 July 1908.[3]
  2. ^ 3rd Cavalry Brigade was one of just three cavalry brigades in the British Army in the Second Boer War.[19]
  3. ^ At this point, he was a lieutenant-colonel, a brevet colonel and local brigadier-general.
  4. ^ Becke shows the 2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade commander as Br-Gen M.D. Little, but this is probably a typo.[31][34]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Malcolm Orme Little". The National Archives. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Colonel Malcolm Orme Little". FamilySearch. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  3. ^ Frederick 1984, p. 100
  4. ^ "No. 24506". The London Gazette. 25 September 1877. p. 5368.
  5. ^ "No. 24580". The London Gazette. 10 May 1878. p. 2986.
  6. ^ "No. 24593". The London Gazette. 14 June 1878. p. 3614.
  7. ^ "No. 24634". The London Gazette. 18 October 1878. p. 5609.
  8. ^ a b "9th Queen's Royal Lancers at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Hanwell 1949, p. 20 [1]
  10. ^ "No. 24820". The London Gazette. 5 March 1880. p. 1906.,
  11. ^ "No. 25640". The London Gazette. 5 November 1886. p. 5326.
  12. ^ "No. 26548". The London Gazette. 4 September 1894. p. 5143.
  13. ^ "No. 27174". The London Gazette. 16 March 1900. p. 1791.
  14. ^ a b "9th Queen's Royal Lancers 1715-1960 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "No. 27174". The London Gazette. 16 March 1900. pp. 1785–1787.
  16. ^ "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. p. 846.
  17. ^ Hanwell 1949, p. 29 [2]
  18. ^ "No. 27264". The London Gazette. 8 January 1901. p. 161.
  19. ^ Clarke 1993, p. 55
  20. ^ "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2704.
  21. ^ "No. 27441". The London Gazette. 10 June 1902. p. 3753.
  22. ^ "No. 27455". The London Gazette. 18 July 1902. p. 4591.
  23. ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. pp. 4835–4837.
  24. ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36821. London. 16 July 1902. p. 11.
  25. ^ "No. 27657". The London Gazette. 15 March 1904. p. 1692.
  26. ^ "No. 27688". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 June 1904. p. 4008.
  27. ^ "No. 27822". The London Gazette. 28 July 1905. p. 5223.
  28. ^ "No. 28186". The London Gazette. 16 October 1908. p. 7472.
  29. ^ "No. 28907". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 September 1914. p. 7463.
  30. ^ "No. 29058". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 February 1915. p. 1171.
  31. ^ a b Becke 1937, p. 51
  32. ^ Becke 1936, p. 6
  33. ^ James 1978, pp. 17, 27
  34. ^ Becke 1936, p. 2
  35. ^ "No. 29627". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1916. p. 6054.
  36. ^ "No. 30155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 June 1917. p. 6384.
  37. ^ "No. 30217". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 August 1917. p. 7980.
  38. ^ Thomas F. Dale (1905). Polo Past and Present. Offices of Country Life. p. 105. Captain (now Colonel) Malcolm Little of the 9th Lancers ...
  39. ^ Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in Britain: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2012, p. 33
  40. ^ "Iris Hermione Brassey in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915". Ancestry.com. 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  41. ^ "Iris Little in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007". Ancestry.com. 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  42. ^ "Iris H Little". Ancestry.com. 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  43. ^ a b c Lundy, Darryl (5 July 2005). "Person Page - 14988". The Peerage. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  44. ^ "No. 32790". The London Gazette. 26 January 1923. p. 617.

Bibliography

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  • Becke, Major A.F. (1936). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-12-4.
  • Becke, Major A.F. (1937). 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: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-00-0.
  • Clarke, W.G. (1993). Horse Gunners: The Royal Horse Artillery, 200 Years of Panache and Professionalism. Woolwich: The Royal Artillery Institution. ISBN 09520762-0-9.
  • Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
  • Hanwell, Major W. (1949). A Short History of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, 1715-1949. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
  • James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
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