General 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 ...

Sir Cecil Hugh Blacker (4 June 1916 – 18 October 2002) was a senior

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 and a former

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

Military career

Educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

and at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, Cecil Blacker was commissioned into the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

in 1936.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He was adjutant of the regiment during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.Obituary: General Sir Cecil Blacker
The Times, 23 October 2002 He later transferred to the 23rd Hussars which then formed part of 11th Armoured Division. He was awarded 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 ...

in 1944 following

Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...

and went on to become Commanding Officer of the 23rd Hussars in 1945. Blacker commanded the

from 1955 to 1957. He was then Military Assistant to the

Chief of the Imperial General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...

, Field Marshal Sir

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperi ...

from 1958 to 1960. He was appointed Commander of 39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland in 1962 and was then General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd Division from 1964 to 1966. He was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command in 1969 and then went on to become Vice Chief of the General Staff in 1970 before becoming

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

in 1973: he held this post until he retired in 1976. In 1974 his home was badly damaged by an IRA bombCrime in Britain Today
/ref> He was ADC General to the Queen from 1974 to 1976. He was also Colonel of the

from 1972 to 1981. Blacker was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1967, a

Knight Commander of the 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 medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in 1969 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1975. He was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1960. He lived in

Hook Norton Hook Norton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It lies northeast of Chipping Norton, close to the Cotswold Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,117. The village is formed of four neighbourhoods: E ...

near

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

in Oxfordshire.

Showjumping

Blacker was an Amateur Steeplechaser and International

Showjumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes sho ...

. He rode in the 1948

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

. He rode Pointsman to win the Grand Military Gold Cup at Cheltenham in 1954. He represented Great Britain in Showjumping from 1959 to 1961. He was President both of the British Showjumping Association from 1976 to 1980 and of the British Equestrian Federation from 1980 to 1984. He was a member of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board from 1980 to 1983.

Family

In 1947 he married Felicity Mary Rew and together they went on to have two sons, writer

Terence Blacker Terence Blacker FRSL (born 5 February 1948, near Hadleigh, Suffolk) is an English songwriter, author and columnist. __TOC__ Biography Blacker is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker, and the brother of sculptor and former jockey Philip Bla ...

and sculptor and former jockey Philip Blacker.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blacker, Cecil 1916 births 2002 deaths Sportspeople from York People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers 23rd Hussars officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross English jockeys British Army personnel of World War II British Army generals British show jumping riders British male equestrians Military personnel from York