Brocas Burrows
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General (Montagu) Brocas Burrows CB
DSO
MC
(31 October 1894 - 17 January 1967) was Commander-in-Chief
of West Africa Command
of the British Army
from 1945 to 1946.
and Oxford University, Burrows was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
in 1914.
He served in World War I
and became a prisoner of war
. He was deployed to the Murmansk
coast with the North Russia Expeditionary Force in 1918. In the 1920s he played cricket
for Surrey County Cricket Club
.
He became Adjutant
at Oxford University Officer Training Corps in 1920 and an Instructor at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1922. He became Brigade Major with the Nowshera Infantry Brigade
in India
in 1928 and then joined 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot
in 1930. He was on the General Staff at the War Office
from 1935 to 1938 when he became the Military Attache in Rome
.
He also served in World War II
as General Officer Commanding
9th Armoured Division in the UK from December 1940 to March 1942 and of 11th Armoured Division from October 1942 to December 1943; he was appointed Head of the British Military Mission to the USSR in 1944.
After the War he became General Officer Commanding
-in-Chief of West Africa Command
; he retired in 1946.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(31 October 1894 - 17 January 1967) was Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of West Africa Command
West Africa Command
-History:After the First World War, military forces in the four British West African colonies were under the control of the individual colonial governments. "The regiments of the four colonies were all under the umbrella of the Royal West African Frontier Force...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1945 to 1946.
Military career
Educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Oxford University, Burrows was commissioned into the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1922 to 1992, when it was amalgmated into the Royal Dragoon Guards.-The beginning:...
in 1914.
He served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. He was deployed to the Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
coast with the North Russia Expeditionary Force in 1918. In the 1920s he played cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
.
He became Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
at Oxford University Officer Training Corps in 1920 and an Instructor at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1922. He became Brigade Major with the Nowshera Infantry Brigade
Nowshera Brigade
The Nowshera Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1939, for service on the North West Frontier...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1928 and then joined 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
in 1930. He was on the General Staff at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
from 1935 to 1938 when he became the Military Attache in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
He also served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
9th Armoured Division in the UK from December 1940 to March 1942 and of 11th Armoured Division from October 1942 to December 1943; he was appointed Head of the British Military Mission to the USSR in 1944.
After the War he became General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
-in-Chief of West Africa Command
West Africa Command
-History:After the First World War, military forces in the four British West African colonies were under the control of the individual colonial governments. "The regiments of the four colonies were all under the umbrella of the Royal West African Frontier Force...
; he retired in 1946.