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{{Short description|British Army officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix= Sir
|name=William Montgomerie Thomson
|birth_date=2 December 1877
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|death_date=23 July 1963 (aged 85)
|death_place=
|image= Sir William Montgomerie Thomson.jpg
|caption= Portrait by [[Walter Stoneman]], 1919
|nickname=
|allegiance= {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
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==Military career==
[[File:Memorial to Lt Gen William Montgomerie Thomson, St Machar's Cathedral.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Lt Gen William Montgomerie Thomson, St Machar's Cathedral]]
Born on 2 December 1877, William Thomson was the fourth son of Captain William Thomson of the [[78th Highlanders]] and Alice Broughton. His older brother was [[Henry Broughton Thomson]]; [[Gwyneth Bebb]] married another brother, Thomas Weldon Thomson. He was educated at [[Bedford School]].<ref name=ww>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U52386/THOMSON_Lieut-Gen._Sir_William?index=11&results=QuicksearchResults&query=0 |title=Thomson, Lieut-Gen. Sir William|publisher= Who's Who}}</ref>
In 1897 he joined the [[Seaforth Highlanders]]. He served in [[Sudan]] in 1898. During the [[World War I|First World War]] he commanded the 1st [[Seaforth Highlanders]] in [[France]] and [[Mesopotamia]] between 1915 and 1916, [[35th Indian Brigade]] between 1916 and 1917, and [[14th Indian Division]] between 1917 and 1918. Between September 1918 and May 1919 he commanded the [[North Persia Force]] and then British forces in the [[South Caucasus]].<ref
On 16 November 1918, in [[Bandar-e Anzali]], Thomson met with [[Nasib Yusifbeyli]], [[Musa bey Rafiyev]] and [[Ahmet Ağaoğlu]], representatives of [[Musavat]], the governing party of the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR). He outlined his goals as (i) ensuring the evacuation of military units of the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Army]] and the ADR from Baku, (ii) preventing Armenian troops from entering Baku, (iii) creating a [[British Empire|British]] administration of local militia, (iv) facilitating the supply of oil from the Baku oilfields for the British, and (v) securing the eastern terminus of the [[Transcaucasus Railway]]. He denied that the [[British Empire|British]] would interfere in internal affairs: "The principle of self-determination of peoples decided at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] from which Azerbaijan will not be excluded".<ref>{{Citation
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|ol = 2850438M
|location =
|author = Tadeusz Swietochowski
|authorlink = Tadeusz Swietochowski
|edition = Russian Azerbaijan,
|date = 1985
|oclc = 10878461
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}}</ref>
Thomson went on to become commander of the 154th Infantry Brigade in April 1920, General Officer Commanding the Presidency and Assam District in November 1924 and General Officer Commanding the [[51st (Highland) Division]] in June 1925.<ref name=commands>{{cite web|url=https://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf|title=Army Commands|accessdate=19 June 2020}}</ref>
Thomson retired from the [[British Army]] in 1934. He was given the Colonelcy of the [[Seaforth Highlanders]] in 1939, holding the position until 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/072Seaf.htm |title=Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) |publisher=regiments.org |accessdate=11 February 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051229185548/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/072Seaf.htm |archivedate=29 December 2005 }}</ref>
He died on 23 July 1963. He is buried in [[Kinloss Abbey]] but is also memorialised on a family stone within the eastern enclosure at [[St Machar's Cathedral]].<ref name=ww/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{S-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archibald Ritchie (British Army officer)|Archibald Ritchie]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[51st (Highland) Division|GOC 51st (Highland) Division]]|years=1927–1931}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sir James Burnett, 13th Baronet|Sir James Burnett]]}}
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{{S-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archibald Ritchie (British Army officer)|Sir Archibald Ritchie]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Seaforth Highlanders|Colonel of the Seaforth Highlanders]]|years=1939–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sir John Laurie, 6th Baronet|Sir John Laurie]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials in Scotland]]
[[Category:British Army lieutenant generals]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedford School]]
[[Category:British Army generals of World War I]]
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[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Seaforth Highlanders officers]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]
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