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 ...

Sir Cyril Harry Colquhoun (1903 – 5 June 1996) was a

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 ...

officer.

Military career

Educated at Oswestry High School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Colquhoun was commissioned into the

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 ...

on 29 August 1923. He was deployed to France as Brigade Major, Royal Artillery, in the

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (Ea ...

with the British Expeditionary Force in 1939 at the start of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation for which he was mentioned in dispatches. He went on to be commanding officer of 6th Field Regiment and led his regiment in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

and the campaign in North West Europe. After the war he became commanding officer of the 76th Field Regiment in

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

and then the 1st Field Regiment in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. He went on to become became Commander, Royal Artillery for 1st Infantry Division in September 1948, Commandant of the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Scho ...

in September 1951 and then General Officer Commanding 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and Northumbrian District in August 1953. After that he become General Officer Commanding,

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 ...

in November 1956 before retiring in December 1959. In retirement he served as Secretary of the

Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, or simply the Central Chancery, is an office of the Lord Chamberlain’s department within the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the administration of ...

from 1960 to 1968 and, in that capacity, advised on commissioning the Sovereign's insignia and the Chancellor's Chain of Office for the new

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1955 New Year Honours, appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, and advanced to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the

1968 Birthday Honours The 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquhoun, Cyril 1903 births 1996 deaths British Army major generals Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency