Lieutenant-General Edmund Archibald Osborne CB DSO (26 July 1885 – 1 June 1969) was a British Army officer who commanded II Corps during the Second World War.
Edmund Osborne | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Sigs"[1] |
| Born | 26 July 1885[2] |
| Died | 1 June 1969 (aged 83) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1904−1941 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-general |
| Service number | 3164 |
| Unit | Royal Engineers Royal Corps of Signals |
| Commands | 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade Cairo Brigade 44th (Home Counties) Division II Corps |
| Battles / wars | First World War I Second World War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in dispatches (8) |
Military career
editOsborne entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Engineers, British Army, in 1904.[3] He served in the First World War, where, in September 1914, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, with the citation reading:
Repeated gallantry and coolness in action on 31st October. He recovered a cable wagon which had been abandoned by the enemy. Has frequently shown great capacity for command.[4]
He continued to serve with distinction during the war, being mentioned in dispatches eight times.[1]
With the war over in November 1918, he then attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1921 to 1922 and later became Commander of the School of Signals in 1926.[3][1]
He went on to be a general staff officer (GSO) with the 3rd Infantry Division in 1930. Osborne subsequently became Commander of 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade in 1933 and Commander of the Cairo Brigade in Egypt in 1934.[3]
He served in the Second World War, initially as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 44th (Home Counties) Division from April 1938 and then as GOC II Corps from 1940[5] until he retired from the British Army in 1941.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c Smart 2005, p. 241.
- ^ Creagh, Sir O'Moore; Humphris, Edith M. (1924). The VC and DSO. Standard Art Book Company.
- ^ a b c d "Osborne, Edmund". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ "No. 28992". The London Gazette. 1 December 1914. p. 10188.
- ^ Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine