Thomas Sutherland (British Army officer)

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Thomas Douglas Sutherland
Born1892
Stronsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland
DiedUnknown
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Service/branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
Rank Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit Lincolnshire Regiment
Seaforth Highlanders
Battles/wars First World War
Second World War
Awards Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Mentioned in Dispatches

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Douglas Sutherland DSO* OBE MC (1892 - 1946) was a decorated British Army officer of the First and Second world wars.

Military Cross third-level military decoration of the British Armed Forces, Commonwealth officers

The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

British Army land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.

Having been brought up in Orkney, Sutherland emigrated to Ceylon as a young man, where he enlisted in the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps. On 25 November 1915 he was granted a commission and became a second lieutenant in the newly formed 6th (Service) Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. [1] [2] He first saw action with his unit in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. He received the Military Cross during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 for successfully retrieving the body of his commanding officer from no man's land and assuming command of his company. [3] Sutherland was wounded during the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917, but by August was in command of 'B' Company of his battalion. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his action on 22 August 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele, successfully rallying a beleaguered company of men and effectively securing a position he had just taken. [4] He was awarded a Bar to his DSO for gallantry and leadership during fighting on the Grand Honnelle River on 6 and 7 November 1918. [5] [6] Sutherland ended the war with the rank of major, having been mentioned in dispatches several times.

Orkney archipelago in northern Scotland

Orkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the isle of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as "the Mainland", and has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.

Gallipoli Campaign military campaign during World War I

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli or the Battle of Çanakkale, was a campaign of the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula. The Entente powers, Britain and France, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the straits that provided a supply route to Russia, the third member of the Entente. The invaders launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula, to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months' fighting, with many casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn. It was a costly and humiliating defeat for the Allies and for the sponsors, especially Winston Churchill.

Battle of the Somme battle of the Western Front, World War I

The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the World War I fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than three million men fought in the battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The Battle of the Somme was fought in the traditional style of World War I battles on the Western Front: trench warfare. The trench warfare gave the Germans an advantage because they dug their trenches deeper than the allied forces which gave them a better line of sight for warfare. The Battle of the Somme also has the distinction of being the first battle fought with tanks. However, the tanks were still in the early stages of development, and as a result, many broke down after maxing out at their top speed of 4 miles per hour.

All four of his brothers also served in World War I. Two of his brothers, Anderson and Goodwin, died in the war.

After the First World War, he emigrated to Canada. Between the wars he married and lived in Sechelt, British Columbia, where he worked as a police officer in the British Columbia Provincial Police. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Sutherland was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders on 28 January 1940. [7] He served with the regiment in the Battle of France and was evacuated from Dunkirk. After Dunkirk, he was posted to Ethiopia and Eritrea to serve in the Military Police. Sutherland was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 18 February 1943. [8] On 16 June 1945 he resigned his commission due to disability and was granted the rank of honorary lieutenant-colonel. [9] He died in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 6, 1946, age 54, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.

Sechelt District municipality in British Columbia, Canada

The District Municipality of Sechelt is located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry trip between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, and a 25-minute drive from Langdale along Highway 101, also known as the Sunshine Coast Highway. The name Sechelt is derived from the Sechelt language word, shishalh, the name of the First Nations people who first settled the area thousands of years ago.

Police officer warranted employee of a police force

A police officer, also known as an officer, policeman, policewoman, cop/copper, garda, police agent, or a police employee is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the rank "officer" is legally reserved for military personnel.

British Columbia Provincial Police

The British Columbia Provincial Police (BCPP) was the provincial police service of British Columbia, Canada, between 1858 and 1950.

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References

  1. ↑ "No. 29380". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1915. p. 11743.
  2. ↑ Colonel F. G. Spring, The History of the 6th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment 1914 - 1919 (Poacher Books, 2009), p.23.
  3. ↑ "No. 13012". The Edinburgh Gazette (Supplement). 16 November 1916. p. 2092.
  4. ↑ "No. 13146". The Edinburgh Gazette (Supplement). 27 September 1917. p. 2049.
  5. ↑ "No. 13428". The Edinburgh Gazette (Supplement). 3 April 1919. p. 1358.
  6. ↑ Colonel F. G. Spring, Appendix II, The History of the 6th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment 1914 - 1919 (Poacher Books, 2009), p.95-6.
  7. ↑ "No. 34806". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 March 1940. p. 1369.
  8. ↑ "No. 35908". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 February 1943. p. 859.
  9. ↑ "No. 37130". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1945. p. 3120.
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