Name William Threipland | Died 1942 | |
Colonel William Murray Threipland, DSO, JP, DL (1866–1942) was a British Army officer. He was appointed the founding colonel commanding of the Welsh Guards in February 1915, and was the regiment's Colonel from March 1937.
He was born William Scott Kerr, but adopted the surname of Murray Threipland on 30 April 1882, following his inheritance of the estates of his cousin, Sir Patrick Murray Threipland, 5th Baronet. These included Fingask Castle in Perthshire, and Dale House in Caithness. He joined the Grenadier Guards in 1887, seeing action in the Sudan Campaign (1898), and in South Africa during the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He retired from the Grenadier Guards with the rank of captain in July 1902.
On 26 February 1915, Murray Threipland, having been interviewed by Lord Kitchener and King George V, was appointed to command a new Guards Regiment. The first battalion of the Welsh Guards was officially formed the following day, with Murray Threipland in command. He was given the rank of lieutenant colonel. Murray Threipland commanded the Welsh Guards at the battle of Loos the same year. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 3 June 1916. He was appointed colonel on 12 March 1937.
He was Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh. He married in 1899 Charlotte Eleanor, co-heiress of William Wyndham Lewis.