Field Marshal Sir John Lintorn Arabin SIMMONS
(1821-1903)

John Lintorn Arabin Simmons was born on 12 February 1821. He entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 14 December 1837 and passed through the young officer's course at the Royal Engineer Establishment in Chatham (now the Royal School of Military Engineering), it was at that time under the command of its founder, Colonel (later General) Sir Charles Pasley.

His first posting was to Canada in 1839 and he was stationed for nearly six years in the British North American Colonies. During this time he was involved in frontier disputes and in the construction of defence fortifications.

Returning to England in 1845 he was promoted to Captain and in 1847 was appointed as Inspector of Railways under the Railway Commissioners, succeeding to the position of Secretary of the Commission in 1850.

When the Commission was disbanded in the following year its responsibilities were handed over to the Board of Trade, with Simmons as the first Secretary of the Railway Department.

After two years in this post he obtained leave in 1853 to travel in Eastern Europe where relations between Russia and Turkey were becoming strained. While in Constantinople, Turkey declared war on Russia and Simmons immediately offered his services to the British Ambassador who requested him to report on the Turkish defences and on the condition and ability of the Ottoman army to resist a Russian advance.

Having completed this satisfactorily, the Ambassador asked him to inspect and report on the defences of the Bosphorous. Clearly, Simmons was being drawn into this conflict and when, on the expiry of his "leave" he was ordered by the Board of Trade to return to London, he resigned immediately and remained in Turkey, under the orders of the Ambassador, who wanted him to serve as British Military Representative to the Omar Pasha.

In February 1854, England and France declared war against Russia and made an alliance with Turkey. Simmons became further involved with the Turkish army and after several successful operations was confirmed as British Commissioner, in the local rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was also awarded the C.B. (Companion of Bath). He remained in this post with the Turks until the end of the Crimean War (1854-56) during which he displayed knowledge of strategy and command which led to regrets that he never had an opportunity of leading a British force in the field.

In 1857, Simmons returned to Asia Minor as the British Representative on the International Commission set up to establish a new boundary between Russia and Asiatic Turkey. This was followed by a Foreign Office appointment as Consul General in Warsaw, a post which he held until the end of 1860.

On his return to England he became Commanding Royal Engineer at Aldershot and in 1865 became a member of a committee set up to review the activities of the Royal Engineers Establishment in Chatham. While generally satisfied, the committee suggested a number of improvements and Simmons was appointed Director of the Establishment, a post he held until 1868 when he was forced to vacate it as it was a Colonel's appointment and he had recently been promoted to Major General.

He was not idle for long and in March 1869, on the sudden death of the lieutenant-governor of the Royal Military Academy, Simmons was selected as his successor. Prior to this, the Commander-in-Chief held the appointment of governor with the Lieutenant-Governor in a somewhat subordinate position. Simmons found that this system gave rise to many difficulties and after some discussion he was appointed governor with full powers and with personal responsibility for the education and conduct of the cadets. In June 1869 he was created KCB and was promoted to Lt.General in 1872, being appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers in the same year.

He devoted much attention to the efficiency of the British army and in 1874-75 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Railway Accidents, a position for which his previous experience as Inspector of Railways made him well suited.

He remained at Woolwich until 1875 and was then appointed Inspector General of Fortifications, a post which he held for five years. At the same time he was a member of the Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions abroad and was also an active member of the Commission on the Organisation of the Army. In 1878, while still within the War Office, he acted as military adviser to the Earl of Beaconsfield and the Marquess of Salisbury, British representatives at an International Congress to revise the treaty which had been drawn up following the end of the Russo-Turkish war. Sir Lintorn Simmons had been promoted to General in 1877 and at the conclusion of the Congress he was given the GCB.

His period of Service as Inspector General of Fortifications ended in 1880 and in 1884 he was appointed Governor of Malta. While in this post he saw through a number of major constitutional and social changes on the island and in 1887 was given the GCMG. He remained in Malta until 1888 when, at the age of 67, he retired from the army.

Despite the ending of his military career, he continued to be employed by the Foreign Office. There were certain questions relating to marriages in Malta involving canon law which needed to be discussed with the Pope and in 1889 Simmons was selected for this delicate mission. In 1890 he was promoted to Field Marshal and thus returned to the active list of the army. Although his public career was at an end, he never ceased to take a keen interest in military subjects and in charitable activities related to the army.

After retiring, he lived at Hawley, near Blackwater in Surrey, where he died on 14 February 1903. He had expressed a wish to be buried at Churchill, in Somerset, alongside his wife but, in accordance with his rank, a funeral service was held at Hawley church by order of King Edward VII. Sir Lintorn Simmons was certainly one of the most distinguished officers who served in the Corps of Royal Engineers during the 19th century.