Western District was a command of the British Army.
Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793. The role of Western District Commander, which was doubled hatted with that of Lieutenant-Governor of Plymouth, was based at Government House, Mount Wise in Devonport. In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in Great Britain and Ireland’ was published, with the ‘Active Army’ divided into eight army corps based on the District Commands. This scheme disappeared in 1881, when the districts were retitled ‘District Commands. By the 1890s the command included the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset and all of South Wales.
In 1901 Western District was grouped with South East District at Dover and Southern District at Portsmouth under Second Army Corps at Salisbury. 2nd Army Corps was renamed Southern Command in 1905.
General Officers Commanding
1793 – 1803 Colonel John Campbell1803 – 1812 Major-General Richard England1812 – 1819 Major-General Gore Browne1819 – 1823 Major-General Sir Denis Pack1823 – 1833 Major-General Sir John Cameron1835 – 1840 Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton1840 – 1842 Major-General Robert Ellice1842 – 1852 Major-General Sir Henry Murray1853 – 1854 Major-General Sir Harry Smith1855 – 1859 Major-General George Eden1859 – 1865 Major-General William Hutchinson1865 – 1866 Lieutenant-General Viscount Templetown1866 – 1869 Lieutenant-General Sir Augustus Spencer1869 – 1874 Major-General Sir Charles Staveley1874 – 1877 Lieutenant-General Henry Smyth1877 – 1880 Lieutenant-General the Hon. Leicester Smyth1880 – 1883 Lieutenant-General Thomas Pakenham1883 – 1885 Major-General James Sayer1885 – 1889 Major-General Thomas Lyons1889 – 1990 Major-General Sir Howard Elphinstone1890 – 1895 General Sir Richard Harrison1895 – 1899 Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker1899 – 1905 Lieutenant-General Sir William Butler
