Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Clifford Thomason Beckett CB,

CBE 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 o ...

, MC (9 November 1891 – 8 July 1972) was an officer of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who had a distinguished military career which spanned almost thirty-five years, including service in the two

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

Early life

Clifford Beckett was the older son of Brigadier-General William Thomas Clifford Beckett and Bessie Drummond Thomason, daughter of Major-General Charles Simeon Thomason of the Bengal Royal Engineers. His younger brother was Walter Napier Thomason Beckett, who later joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

(RN). Before his military career, Beckett's father William had been a civil engineer of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. Clifford Beckett spent a significant part of his childhood living in India, where his father was in charge of constructing the first

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

bridges over the

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

rivers on the East Coast Extension of the Bengal – Nagpur Railway, completing the connection between the cities of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and Madras. In 1901, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

for a paper he presented on his completed project. The family returned to Great Britain for the boys education, and lived near

Grantown-on-Spey Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Military career

Clifford Beckett was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

in his native

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and then attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Field Artillery of the

on 20 July 1911. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Beckett served in various campaigns including Gallipoli,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and finally was wounded at Palestine where he received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) for his actions. He finished the war with the rank of captain. He also served in Iraq in 1919-20 during the Arab rebellion.January 1946 Half Yearly Supplement On 4 December 1915, Clifford Beckett married Winifred Mary Ackerley Chichester, daughter of the late C. A. W. Chichester and bore one son and two daughters. During the period between the wars Beckett was engaged in various military duties including travel in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and Australia. In 1929, he was Staff Captain at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

overseeing the Special Award War Office Committee on Awards to Inventors. Beckett was later employed on strategic reconnaissances in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

and also served in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

where he was involved in the suppression of riots and the organization of the Military Jubilee Tattoo. At King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

's coronation on 12 May 1937, Beckett had the honour of serving as a Gold Staff Officer. By the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Beckett had reached the rank of Commanding Officer of the 1st Survey Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. In this role he saw active service during the Flanders campaign of 1939–1940, where he was Mentioned in Despatches for operations in the field. Beckett then went on to be Commander of the Royal Artillery of the 15th Scottish Division from June 1940 until May 1941 when he was appointed Commander of the Royal Artillery at Malta. Clifford Beckett remained at the Fortress of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

for several years and rose to the rank of

of the

& Commander Anti-Aircraft Defences Malta. During July and August 1942, Beckett acted as General Officer Commanding Troops for Malta following the departure of

Daniel Marcus William Beak, VC, DSO, MC & Bar (27 July 1891 – 3 May 1967).Daniel Marcus William Beak at www.generals.dk
/ref> In recognition of his actions at Malta Beckett was made a

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 ...

on 18 February 1943. By 1943 Beckett was in command of the 4th and 5th Anti-Aircraft Groups of the Royal Artillery. In April 1945 Clifford Beckett was made a Companion in The Most Honourable Order of the Bath in recognition of meritorious services during his military career and he retired from military service on 24 May 1946 at the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Later life

Beckett held many positions in civilian life following his retirement from the Military. He was Honorary Fellow and President Emeritus of the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Society of London (President 1949-1952 and subsequently a vice-president). He held the position of Deputy Lieutenant for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

(1952–1967). He served as Director of the French Hospital of La Providence and was President of the

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents. Anyo ...

(SSAFA) of

, (1949–1958). Beckett also judged at the Rhône and Delhi Horse Shows. Beckett had a keen interest in history and published ''The Yeomanry of Devon'' (with Commander W. Benson Freeman) and was a regular contributor to military journals and the Journal of

Society of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Beckett's wife Winifred died in 1960 and Clifford Beckett died in 1972, aged 80.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Clifford Thomason British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Military Cross Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People educated at Tonbridge School 1891 births 1972 deaths People from Tonbridge Royal Field Artillery officers Royal Artillery officers Military personnel from Kent Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset British Army major generals