Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison, (12 February 1889 – 26 April 1967) was a Scottish soldier who served in both the

First FIRST may refer to: *For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology *Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams *Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters ("FIRST"), a radio survey *Far Infrared and Sub-millimetre Telescope, ...

and Second World Wars.

Early life and First World War

Born on 12 February 1889, Hutchison was the son of Alexander Hutchison, of Braehead,

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. His older brother, Robert, later became a politician and a senior officer in the British Army.thepeerage.com Lt.-Gen. Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison
/ref> After attending Uppingham School, Hutchison received a commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the Royal Artillery Supplementary Reserve on 26 June 1909.Smart, p. 164 On 9 December 1911 Hutchison transferred to the

7th Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

, and received a promotion to lieutenant on 9 August 1913. During the First World War Hutchison served with his regiment in the Mesopotamian campaign, and was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

four times.

Between the wars

Remaining in the army during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, Hutchison served in a variety of staff and regimental appointments, including as a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

(GSO) with the

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the beginn ...

, before returning to the United Kingdom and attending the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

as a student from 1923 to 1924.Smart, p. 165 His fellow students there included

Montagu Stopford General Sir Montagu George North Stopford (16 November 1892 – 10 March 1971) was a senior British Army officer who fought during both World War I and World War II. The latter he served in with distinction, commanding XXXIII Indian Corps in t ...

, Michael Gambier-Parry, Dudley Johnson,

Gordon Macready Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Nevil Macready, 2nd Baronet (5 April 1891 – 17 October 1956) was a British Army officer who served as Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War. Military career Born in Kandy, ...

, Arthur Percival, Frederick Pile,

Edmond Schreiber Lieutenant-General Sir Edmond Charles Acton Schreiber, (30 April 1890 – 8 October 1972) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First World War and the Second World War. In the latter he commanded the 45th Infantry Division, ...

and John Smyth, all of whom, with the exception of Smyth, were destined to become

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

s. He then served for two years as a staff captain with Scottish Command, before being sent to Northern China, joining the

Shanghai Defence Force The Shanghai Defence Force was a tri-service military formation established by the British Government to protect European nationals and their property in Shanghai from Chinese nationalist forces during a period of tension in 1927. History Following ...

as a staff captain, later being made Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General. Returning to the United Kingdom in early 1928, Hutchison served with Eastern Command as Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster-General. He transferred to the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince A ...

on 11 October 1930, and from 1935 to 1937 he succeeded

Willoughby Norrie Lieutenant-General Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie, (26 September 1893 – 25 May 1977), was a senior officer of the British Army who fought in both World Wars, following which he served terms as Governor of South Australia an ...

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the regiment. From October 1937 until November 1938, he served as assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general to the Mobile Division, commanded by Major-General Alan Brooke, who had been one of Hutchison's instructors at the Staff College.

Second World War

Hutchison was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1940, when he was Deputy Quartermaster-General, Middle East, and with it came a promotion to the acting rank of major general.Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison
generals.dk He was invested as a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1941. He gained the rank of major-general on 17 January 1942, when he was General Officer Commanding Sudan and Eritrea. He gained the rank of honorary lieutenant-general on 10 December 1945 upon retirement as Quartermaster-General, Army Headquarters India. He was invested as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1946. He was mentioned in despatches several times during the war, including on 26 July 1940.

Personal life

Hutchison married Audrey Jervis-White-Jervis, daughter of Herbert Jervis-White-Jervis and Beatrice Ruggles-Brise, on 28 January 1920. They had five children. He lived at Rendham Court,

Rendham Rendham is a village and civil parish on the B1119 road, in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is near the town Saxmundham and the village Sweffling. Etymology Rendham comes from Old English and Saxon. Rend is the ...

, Saxmundham,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, where he died on 26 April 1967.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939-1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchison, Balfour 1889 births 1967 deaths 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers 10th Royal Hussars officers British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Uppingham School People from Kirkcaldy Royal Artillery officers Scottish military personnel British Army lieutenant generals Sudan Defence Force officers Military personnel from Fife