Torquhil Matheson was born on 4 February 1871, the youngest child of Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet, and was educated at Eton College. He inherited the baronetcy in 1944 when his four older brothers (including the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Baronets) predeceased him and three nephews (the 3rd Baronet's only sons) were all killed in action in the First World War.

In 1900 Matheson married Ella Louisa Linton. They divorced in 1923. He then married Lady Elizabeth Mary Gertrude Lucia Sophia Keppel, the youngest child of Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle. They had two sons:

• Major Sir Torquhil Alexander Matheson of Matheson, 6th Bt. (15 August 1925 – 9 April 1993)
• Major Sir Fergus John Matheson of Matheson, 7th Bt. (22 February 1927 – 2017)

Destined for a career in the British Armed Forces, Matheson was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 4th (Militia) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment (later the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment) on 15 December 1888.^[4] On 2 June 1894, Matheson transferred from the Bedfordshires, in which he was then a lieutenant, to the Coldstream Guards as a second lieutenant again,^[5] and was promoted lieutenant in that regiment on 1 December 1897.^[6] He served in the Second Boer War, as adjutant of the 1st Battalion from 1899 until May 1902.^[7] The battalion took part in the battles of Belmont (23 November 1899), Enslin, Modder River (28 November 1899) and Magersfontein (11 December 1899), and he was mentioned in despatches, and promoted to captain on 20 April 1901.^[8][9]

Following the end of the war, Matheson left Cape Town in the SS Carisbrook Castle in September 1902, arriving at Southampton early the following month.^[10] He was appointed regimental adjutant to the Coldstream Guards on 1 January 1903.^[11]

At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Matheson went with his regiment to France and fought in several actions, being promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1915 and taking command of the 3rd Battalion.^[12]

In July 1915, Matheson advanced to command the 46th Brigade, part of the 15th (Scottish) Division, and remained in this position until March 1917, when he was promoted to major general and took over the 20th (Light) Division. In August, shortly before the division was due to deploy in the Battle of Passchendaele, Matheson was severely affected by a German gas barrage that struck his headquarters, forcing him to relinquish control of the division. In September he took over the 4th Division, remaining in this position until September 1918, when he was replaced by Louis Lipsett and took charge of the Guards Division, which he led for the final months of the war until the armistice with Germany in November 1918, which ended hostilities.^[12]

In 1918, Matheson was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and the following year was awarded the Croix de Guerre^[13] and appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on relinquishing command of the Guards Division. In 1922, he was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath "for valuable services rendered in the Field with the Waziristan Force",^[14] and commanded the 7th Guards Brigade and then the 7th Infantry Division.^[12] He then became General Officer Commanding of the 54th (East Anglian) Division in February 1927.^[15]

On 30 June 1931, Matheson was appointed to his last command, as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command, India,^[16] and on 30 June 1935 retired from that post as a full general.^[17] On 2 July 1935 he was gazetted to the Retired List,^[18] and in 1944 succeeded he to his grandfather's baronetcy on the death of his elder brother Roderick. He himself died in November 1963, at the age of 92.^[12]

• Davies, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (2014). Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-1251-2.
• Hart, H.G. (1903). Hart's Annual Army List. Vol. 64. London: John Murray.