A General Dies at Sea

Leading the armored pack when Montgomery chased Rommel, the Desert Fox, out of Africa was hard-riding Herbert Lumsden, commander of the X Corps. A lieutenant general at the age of 45, he was accounted one of Britain's most brilliant young commanders.

But lean, gimlet-eyed Lumsden, who had risen from the ranks, became involved in a ruinous personal disagreement with his superior officers. Winston Churchill assigned Lumsden as his liaison officer with General MacArthur in the Southwest Pacific. There Lumsden faithfully did his routine duty with a heavy heart and longed for another combat command.

On the first day of the Luzon bombardment General Lumsden was killed on the bridge of a U.S. warship in Lingayen Gulf. In London, the War Office announced his death "with deep regret." MacArthur did better by him: "It is superfluous for me to speak of the complete courage which this officer so frequently displayed. . . . His general service and usefulness to the Allied cause was beyond praise."

Standing only the width of the ship's bridge away from Lumsden, with whom he had been discussing the action, was Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, commander in chief of the British Pacific Fleet. He got nothing worse than "a bit of a bang in the ears." Sir Bruce will soon lead his own powerful fleet into battle under U.S. overall command.

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