Thomas Sydney Beckwith

Sir Thomas Beckwith
Born	1772
Died	15 January 1831
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Bombay Army
Battles/wars	War of 1812
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith KCB (1772 – 15 January 1831) was an officer of the British army who served as quartermaster general of the British forces in Canada during the War of 1812, and a commander-in-chief of the Bombay Army during the British Raj. He is most notable for his distinguished service during the Peninsular War and for his contributions to the development and command of the 95th Rifles.

His father was Major General John Beckwith, who commanded the 20th Regiment of Foot. His brothers were Captain John Beckwith, Sir George Beckwith and Brigadier General Ferdinand Beckwith. He was also the uncle of Major-General John Charles Beckwith. He entered the Army himself in 1791, joining the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot, and served with them in India.

In 1817 (???), he married Mary, eldest daughter of Sir William Douglas, 4th Baronet of Kelhead. Their only son, Thomas Sydney Beckwith, was a Captain in the Rifle Brigade, and died in Gibraltar on 21 March 1828 (???).

In 1800, he was appointed to command a company in Colonel Coote Manningham's "Experimental Corps of Riflemen", which later was designated the 95th Regiment and subsequently the Rifle Brigade. He was promoted to Major within the Corps in 1802. The next year, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and took command of the 1st Battalion. Beckwith was one of the favourite officers of Sir John Moore in the famous camp of Shorncliffe, and aided that general in the training of the troops which afterwards became the Light Division.

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