Walter Babington Thomas

Major-General Walter Babington 'Sandy' Thomas CB DSO MC and Bar (born 1919) is a former Commander of British Far East Land Forces.

Military career
Brought up in New Zealand, Sandy Thomas was commissioned into the New Zealand Military Forces at the outbreak of World War II. He was wounded, became a prisoner of war in Crete, escaped from a prison hospital and then fled to Syria. After the War he obtained a commission in the Royal Hampshire Regiment and, in 1955, he was mentioned in dispatches while dealing with the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. He was appointed General Officer Commanding 5th Division in 1968 and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Far East Land Forces in April 1970 before being elevated to be General Officer Commanding Far East Land Forces in October 1970.

He was awarded the CB in 1971 and retired in 1972.