Eastern Command (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
History
The Command was established in 1905 from the Fourth Army Corps and was based in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Among the formations raised under its supervision in World War I was the 12th (Eastern) Division. Its headquarters was initially located at Horseguards in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. During 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...
the Command relocated to Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo straddles the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire borders between the towns of Harpenden and Luton. The unusual name "Hoo" is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, and is more commonly associated with East Anglia.- Early History :...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. After the War it moved to Hounslow Barracks in Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
and then, in 1954, it moved to Wilton Park
Wilton Park
Wilton Park is an executive agency of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is a non-profit-making organisation holding discussions on global security and prosperity....
in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
.
In 1939 Regular Troops reporting to the Command included 4th Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...
.
The Command was merged into HQ UK Land Forces (HQ UKLF) in 1972.
General Officers Commanding-in-Chief
General Officers CommandingGeneral 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 have included:
- 1905 - 1908 Lieutenant General Lord MethuenPaul Methuen, 3rd Baron MethuenField Marshal Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen GCB, GCMG, GCVO was a British military commander.-Early life:...
- 1908 - 1912 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Paget
- 1912 - 1914 Lieutenant General Sir James GriersonJames GriersonLieutenant General Sir James Moncrieff Grierson KCB, CMG, CVO, ADC was a British soldier.- Military career :Grierson was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1877....
- 1914 - 1915 Lieutenant General Sir Charles WoollcombeCharles WoollcombeLieutenant General Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe KCB KCMG was a British Army General during World War I.-Military career:Woollcome was commissioned into the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1877...
- 1915 - 1916 Lieutenant General Sir Leslie RundleLeslie RundleGeneral Sir Leslie Rundle GCB GCMG GCVO DSO was a British Army General during World War I.-Military career:...
- 1916 - 1917 Lieutenant General Sir James Wolfe-Murray
- 1917 - 1918 Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson
- 1918 General Sir William Robertson
- 1918 - 1919 Lieutenant General Sir Charles WoollcombeCharles WoollcombeLieutenant General Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe KCB KCMG was a British Army General during World War I.-Military career:Woollcome was commissioned into the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1877...
- 1919 - 1923 General Lord HorneHenry Horne, 1st Baron HorneGeneral Henry Sinclair Horne, 1st Baron Horne GCB, KCMG was a military officer in the British Army, most notable for his generalship during World War I. He was the only British artillery officer to command an army in the war. Until recently Horne was the unknown General of the Great War and did...
- 1923 - 1926 Lieutenant General Sir George MilneGeorge Milne, 1st Baron MilneField Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, GCB, GCMG, DSO , was a British military commander who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1926 to 1933.-Army career:...
- 1926 - 1927 Lieutenant General Sir Walter BraithwaiteWalter BraithwaiteGeneral Sir Walter Pipon Braithwaite, GCB was a British general during World War I. After being dismissed from his position as Chief of Staff for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, he received some acclaim as a competent divisional commander on the Western Front...
- 1927 - 1931 General Sir Robert WhighamRobert WhighamGeneral Sir Robert Dundas Whigham GCB KCMG DSO is a former Adjutant-General to the Forces.-Military career:Educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Robert Whigham was commissioned into the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1885.He becam...
- 1931 - 1933 General Sir Webb GillmanWebb GillmanGeneral Sir Webb Gillman KCB KCMG DSO was a British Army General during World War I.-Military career:Educated at Dulwich College, Gillman was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1889...
- 1933 - 1936 Lieutenant General Sir Cyril DeverellCyril DeverellField Marshal Sir Cyril John Deverell, GCB, KBE, ADC was a British career military officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1936 and 1937.-Army career:...
- 1936 - 1938 Lieutenant General Sir Edmund IronsideEdmund Ironside, 1st Baron IronsideField Marshal William Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside GCB, CMG, CBE, DSO, was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the first year of the Second World War....
- 1938 - 1941 Lieutenant General Sir Guy WilliamsGuy Williams (British Army officer)General Sir Guy Charles Williams KCB CMG DSO was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:Guy Williams was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and served in World War I....
- 1941 - 1942 Lieutenant General Laurence CarrLaurence CarrLieutenant General Laurence Carr CB OBE DSO was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:Laurence Carr was commissioned into the Gordon Highlanders in 1915....
- April 1942 - August 1942 Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth AndersonKenneth Arthur Noel AndersonGeneral Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, KCB, MC was a British Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars. He is mainly remembered as the commander of the First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Tunisia. He had an outwardly reserved character and did not court...
- September 1942 - January 1944 Lieutenant General Sir James GammellJames GammellLieutenant-General Sir James Andrew Harcourt Gammell KCB DSO MC was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:After studying at Cambridge University, James Gammell was commissioned into the Scottish Horse Yeomanry in 1913...
- January 1944 - December 1944 Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth AndersonKenneth Arthur Noel AndersonGeneral Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, KCB, MC was a British Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars. He is mainly remembered as the commander of the First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Tunisia. He had an outwardly reserved character and did not court...
- December 1944 - August 1945 Lieutenant General Sir Alan Cunningham
- 1945 - 1947 Lieutenant General Sir Oliver LeeseOliver LeeseLieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
- 1947 - 1950 General Sir Evelyn BarkerEvelyn BarkerGeneral Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker KCB KBE DSO MC was a British Army general in World War II, and commander of British forces in the Mandate Palestine from 1946 to 1947...
- 1950 - 1952 General Sir Gerald TemplerGerald TemplerField Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954...
- 1952 - 1953 Lieutenant General Sir George ErskineGeorge ErskineGeneral Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine GCB, KBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer during World War II-Background:...
- 1953 - 1954 Lieutenant General Sir Geoffrey BourneGeoffrey Bourne, Baron BourneGeneral Geoffrey Kemp Bourne, Baron Bourne GCB, KBE, CMG was a British soldier.-Military career:Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1923, Bourne served in Hong Kong from 1930 to 1932, in Gibraltar from 1933 and 1934, in the Staff College, Camberley in 1935 and 1936, and in Colchester in 1937...
- 1954 - 1956 Lieutenant General Sir Francis FestingFrancis FestingField Marshal Sir Francis Wogan Festing GCB, KBE, DSO , called 菲士挺 in Chinese, was a field marshal of the British Army...
- 1956 - 1959 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Coleman
- 1959 - 1960 Lieutenant General Sir James Cassels
- 1960 - 1961 General Sir Gerald LathburyGerald LathburyGeneral Sir Gerald William Lathbury, GCB, DSO, MBE was a British Army officer during the Second World War and later became Governor of Gibraltar-Military career:...
- 1962 - 1965 Lieutenant General Sir Roderick McLeodRoderick McLeodLieutenant General Sir Roderick William McLeod GBE KCB was a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1950s.-Military career:...
- 1965 - 1966 Lieutenant General Sir George ColeGeorge Cole (British Army officer)Lieutenant General Sir George Sinclair Cole KCB CBE was a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1960s.-Military career:...
- 1966 - 1968 Lieutenant General Sir David Peel YatesDavid Peel YatesLieutenant General Sir David Peel Yates KCB CVO DSO OBE was a British Army General who reached high office during the 1960s.-Military career:David Peel Yates was commissioned into the South Wales Borderers in 1931...