Sir Herbert Plumer

Sir Herbert Plumer
Alexander Bassano · Public domain · source
Name	Sir Herbert Plumer
Birth date	13 March 1857
Birth place	Pontefract, Yorkshire
Death date	16 March 1932
Death place	Lisbon, Portugal
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Serviceyears	1876–1920
Rank	Field Marshal
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Sir Herbert Plumer

Sir Herbert Plumer was a British Army officer and colonial administrator noted for his command during the First World War and later governorships. He served in campaigns linked to the Second Boer War, First World War, and postwar administration across Europe and the British Empire, earning promotion to Field Marshal and appointment to senior posts such as Governor of Malta and High Commissioner of the British Mandate for Palestine-era administrative roles.

Early life and education

Born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, Plumer was the son of a solicitor and received schooling that prepared him for a career in the British Army. He trained at institutions associated with officer commissioning contemporaneous with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the milieu of Victorian-era professional soldiers alongside figures who served in the Crimean War aftermath and the expansion of the British Empire. Early influences included the reforming measures in the Cardwell Reforms era and debates in the House of Commons about army organization.

Military career

Plumer was commissioned into the Royal Scots Fusiliers and served in postings across the British Isles and overseas garrisons linked to imperial strategy in the late 19th century. He saw action in the Second Boer War and held staff appointments in headquarters shaped by doctrines circulating within the War Office and among contemporaries at the Staff College, Camberley. His career intersected with officers like Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Douglas Haig, William Robertson, and staff influenced by campaigns in Sudan and the Mahdist War. He progressed through commands associated with divisions and corps formations of the British Expeditionary Force model and contributed to discussions in professional journals and conferences involving the École Militaire debates and inter-Allied staff exchanges with the French Army and Belgian Army.

Role in the First World War

During the First World War Plumer commanded the British Second Army on the Western Front and directed operations during major actions such as the Battle of Messines and phases of the Battle of Passchendaele and the Battle of the Somme follow-ups. His planning emphasized meticulous preparation influenced by lessons from the Battle of Arras, combined arms experiments with Royal Flying Corps reconnaissance and coordination with the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. Plumer worked alongside Allied commanders including Ferdinand Foch, Joseph Joffre, Sir Douglas Haig, Sir William Robertson, and coordinated with corps commanders drawn from families of prewar officers and colonial volunteers from units like the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the Australian Imperial Force. His methods reflected doctrines debated at the Army War College and in exchanges with the United States Expeditionary Forces leadership under John J. Pershing. Plumer’s emphasis on bite-and-hold tactics and set-piece preparatory artillery barrages involved ordnance and logistics shaped by industries such as Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth and transport networks tied to the Great Western Railway and continental rail systems.

Colonial administration and governorships

After the armistice Plumer held senior posts involving occupation and administration during the transition from wartime command to peacetime governance, interacting with institutions like the League of Nations and participating in forums addressing postwar mandates and territorial settlements influenced by the Treaty of Versailles and the San Remo Conference. He served as Governor of Malta and later took on responsibilities associated with imperial governance in contexts connected to Palestine Mandate administration and liaison with officials from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, and imperial civil servants who had backgrounds in administrations in India, Egypt, Cyprus, and Ceylon. His administrative style drew on precedents set by governors such as Lord Lytton, Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, and Sir Arthur Borton and engaged with debates over mandate policy alongside figures involved in the Paris Peace Conference.

Honours and titles

Plumer’s promotions culminated with elevation to Field Marshal and investiture with senior orders including the Order of the Bath and the Order of St Michael and St George, as well as foreign decorations from allied states such as awards conferred by France, Belgium, and Italy. He received honorary degrees and recognition from military institutions including links to the Royal United Service Institute and exhibitions associated with the Imperial War Museum and ceremonial roles at events in London and on the continent where monarchs from houses like Windsor and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha presided.

Personal life and legacy

Plumer married and had family ties that connected him with social networks spanning Yorkshire gentry and service communities involved in regimental patronage and charitable societies such as those linked to the British Red Cross and veteran associations including the Royal British Legion. His legacy is examined in military histories that consider commanders of the Western Front alongside studies of interwar imperial administration and comparison with figures like Alan Brooke and Henry Wilson. Memorials, biographies, and archival holdings in institutions such as the National Archives (United Kingdom), the Imperial War Museum, and county record offices preserve correspondence, orders, and papers relevant to campaigns and governance episodes involving colonial and European actors. Scholars reference his approach when analyzing tactical evolution in the First World War and the transition of senior officers into diplomatic and administrative roles during the interwar period.

Category:1857 births Category:1932 deaths Category:British field marshals