Herbert Lumsden

Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden, CB, DSO, MC, (1897 - January 6, 1945) was a British Army general during World War II. Lumsden was widely praised for his command of an Armoured car regiment during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He was promoted and commanded a tank brigade before being appointed GOC of 1st Armoured Division. It was in this role that he first saw service in North Africa. He was wounded twice in 1942 and on his return to service he survived Montgomery's cull of Eighth Army commanders. He was appointed commander of X Corps for the Second Battle of El Alamein after Horrocks turned the command down and recommended Lumsden. He did not get on well with Montgomery though and was sacked after the battle for a perceived reluctance to pursue the retreating Afrika Korps.

Lumsden was given a home appointment before being sent to the Pacific as Winston Churchill's military representative to MacArthur. He was killed instantly by a kamikaze plane whilst on the bridge of USS New Mexico observing the bombardment of Lingayen Gulf on January 6 1945. Narrowly escaping death in the same incident was Vice Admiral Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, who had requested Lumsden's presence on the bombardment tour.