John Lintorn Arabin Simmons
Sir John Lintorn Arabin Simmons , GCB GCMG (born February 12, 1821 in Langford , Somerset , † February 14, 1903 in Hawley , Hampshire ) was a British field marshal and governor of Malta .
Origin and youth
John Lintorn Arabin Simmons was born the fifth son of Captain Thomas Frederick Simmons, Royal Artillery . He entered the Royal Engineers at the age of 16 on December 14, 1837, after being accepted into the Royal Military Academy , Woolwich . He completed the junior officer courses of the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham (now the Royal School of Military Engineering), which at the time was being led by its discoverer and patron, Colonel Sir Charles Pasley.
It was first used in Canada in 1839. Simmons was stationed in the North American colonies for almost six years. During this time he got involved in border disputes and was busy building fortifications.
Inspector of the railways
On his return to England in 1846 he was promoted to captain and in 1847 was appointed Inspector of Railways. In 1850 he became secretary of the Railway Commission. He investigated several railway accidents, including the railway accident on the Dee Bridge in Chester , a bridge collapse that left five people dead. His report made the cast iron girders of the bridge responsible for the accident. The accident was of great concern at the time as the bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson . Many other bridges designed along the same lines had to be demolished and replaced. In 1851, Simmons became the first general secretary of the Railroad Department under the Board of Trade .
Military career
In 1853, while on leave of absence from his post on the Board of Trade, he was in Constantinople when Turkey declared war on Russia . The British ambassador accepted Simmons' offer of assistance and tasked him with a report on the Turkish fortifications and their ability to withstand an attack by Russian troops. After his leave of absence had expired, he resigned from the Board of Trade, which enabled him to return to Turkey. First employed as a British military liaison officer with Omar Pasha , he was later appointed British Commissioner in the Ottoman Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . In this capacity he took part in the Crimean War from 1854 to 1856 . In 1857, Simmons returned to Asia Minor as the British representative in the Commission for the Determination of the Border between Russia and Turkey .
He then served in the Foreign Office as Consul General in Warsaw . In 1860 he rejoined the Royal Engineers, first as Chief of Pioneering in the British Army (Commanding Royal Engineer) in Aldershot and later as Director of the Royal Engineer Establishment in Chatham.
In 1868 he was promoted to major general . He became lieutenant-governor of the Royal Military Academy in March 1869 and shortly afterwards command of the academy. In June 1869 he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath , lieutenant general and in 1872 appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers. From 1875 to 1880 he was Inspector General of Fortifications. During this time he was promoted to general in 1877 and was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1878 .
As governor of Malta from 1884 to 1888, he initiated significant constitutional and social changes on the island. In 1887 he was beaten to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George . He left Malta at the age of 67 when he finished active service in the British Army. The Foreign Office took its services continues to complete and sent him in 1889 as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative Minister (Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary) to Rome to Pope Leo XIII.
In 1890 he received the Grand Cordon of the Order of Medjidieh from the Turkish Sultan and was promoted to Field Marshal of the British Army .
He retired to Hawley near Blackwater , Hampshire and died there on February 14, 1903.
He was the maternal grandfather of Rotha Lintorn-Orman, a leader of the British fascists in the 1920s and 1930s.
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur Borton |
Governor of Malta 1884–1888 |
Henry Torrens |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Simmons, John Lintorn Arabin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Simmons, Sir John Lintorn Arabin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Field Marshal and Governor of Malta |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1821 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Langford , Somerset |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 14, 1903 |
| Place of death | Hawley, Hampshire |