HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 Francis Ivan Simms Tuker KCIE CB DSO
OBE 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 ...
(4 July 1894 – 7 October 1967) was a senior
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
who commanded the 4th Indian Infantry Division during 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 ...
.


Early life

The son of William J. Sanger Tuker, of Butts Green Hall, Sandon,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
, by his marriage to Katherine Louisa Simms, of Yew House, Twickenham, Tuker was educated at
Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in Ea ...
, of which he was in later life a governor, and attended 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 infantry a ...
, from 1912 to 1913.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref>


Military career

Commissioned 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 1 ...
into 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 Gur ...
's
Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...
in 1914, later that year Tuker transferred to the
2nd Gurkha Rifles The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Bat ...
of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...
, in which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 10 October. He saw active service in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and served as an acting captain from 14 March to 12 April 1916, and was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant on 17 August 1917, back-dated to 1 September 1915. Promoted to captain on 14 January 1918, he took part in the Kuki Punitive expedition that year and, after the war, was an officer of the North West
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmen ...
operations between 1920 and 1921. After 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 ...
from 1925 to 1926, Tuker was promoted to major on 14 January 1932, brevetted to lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1933, and promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 February 1937, at which time he was appointed
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 latitud ...
(CO) of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles. For his part in operations in
Waziristan Waziristan ( Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some ...
that year, he was appointed an OBE (Mil.) on 21 December and was
mentioned in dispatches 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 ...
in February 1938. On 27 October 1939, a month after the outbreak 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 ...
, Tuker was promoted to full colonel (with seniority from 1 July 1936). He became Director of Military Training in
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
in 1940. A temporary brigadier by this time, he was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) 34th Indian Infantry Division on 1 October 1941 with the acting rank of major-general. He took over command of the 4th Indian Infantry Division on 30 December 1941Orders of battle
/ref> and then commanded it during the Western Desert and Italian campaigns. Promoted to temporary major-general on 1 October 1942, he was mentioned in dispatches on 15 December 1942 and again on 24 June 1943. Promoted to major-general on 31 May 1943, he was appointed a CB on 5 August 1943. In early 1944, towards the end of Tuker's time in Italy, during the
Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective w ...
, Allied commanders were engaged in a controversy regarding what action should be taken against the monastery at
Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...
. The Germans had declared it a military-free zone but many senior commanders were reluctant to believe that the Germans would not occupy such a strategically important position. Tuker had found a book dated 1879 in a
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's admin ...
bookshop giving details of the construction of the monastery at Monte Cassino which his division was to attack. He wrote a memorandum to his Corps commander,
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 ...
Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Freyb ...
, concluding that it should be demolished to prevent its occupation. He also pointed out that with 150-foot (45 m) high walls made of masonry at least 10 feet (3 m) thick, there was no practical means for field engineers to deal with the place, and that bombing with
blockbuster bomb A blockbuster bomb or cookie was one of several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The term ''blockbuster'' was originally a name coined by the press and referred to a bomb which had enough explo ...
s would be the only solution since 1,000 pound bombs would be "next to useless".
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.". O ...
Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the
Allied Armies in Italy The Allied Armies in Italy (AAI) was the title of the highest Allied field headquarters in Italy, during the middle part of the Italian campaign of World War II. In the early and later stages of the campaign the headquarters was known as the ...
, agreed to the bombing (which did not employ blockbuster bombs) and the ruins were occupied by German forces which held the position until 18 May. Tuker commanded the 4th Indian Division until 4 February 1944 when he became seriously ill and for nearly a year took no part in the war. While recovering he assumed light duties as
General Officer Commanding, Ceylon General Officer Commanding, Ceylon (also known as ''Commander of Troops'' or ''Officer Commanding His/Her Majesties Troops, Ceylon'') was the designation of the General Officer appointed to command all British Army units stationed in the island of ...
from March 1944 to September 1944, before becoming Chairman of the Frontier Commission in India. On 14 July 1945 he was put in temporary command of the IV Corps in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
while Frank Messervy took leave for a month, taking part in the defeat of the Japanese at the
Battle of the Sittang Bend The Battle of the Sittang Bend and the Japanese Breakout across Pegu Yomas were linked Japanese military operations during the Burma Campaign, which took place nearly at the end of World War II. Surviving elements of the Imperial Japanese Army ...
a breakout attempt at the Sittang in July and August. For his service in Burma he received his final mention in dispatches in September 1946. Tuker reverted to his substantive rank of major-general and after taking some leave, became Commander, Lucknow District in November 1945. Knighted with the KCIE in the
1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginni ...
, he was promoted once more to acting lieutenant-general on 21 January and appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, India. Promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant-general on 15 November 1946, he retired on 25 April 1948 and died in 1967. There is a memorial tablet to him in the chapel of Brighton College, below which hangs his sword. At its dedication ceremony, the
Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas is a British military band based at Shorncliffe. It supports the British Army and the Brigade of Gurkhas in ceremonial settings, pass off parades, concerts and many other musical support tasks. It is a directl ...
performed a
Beating Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...
on the school's playing field. Tuker's nickname in the army was "Gertie". He is known for a number of books on military history that he wrote, including ''The Pattern of War'', ''While Memory Serves'' and ''The Yellow Scarf''. In his book ''The Pattern of War'' he argued that warfare follows a definite pattern.


Private life

In 1923 Tuker married Catherine Isabella Bucknall, in the district of
Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby tow ...
,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
. She died in Cornwall on 2 October 1947 and was buried at St Mawnan and St Stephen's Church,
Mawnan Mawnan ( kw, Maunan, meaning ''St Maunan'') is a village and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the former administrative district of Kerrier and is bounded to the south by the Helford River, to the east by the ...
. In 1948, in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it mer ...
, Tuker married secondly Cynthia H. Fawcett. Tuker's father died on 26 January 1951, aged eighty-nine, when he was still living at Butts Green, Sandon, Essex. In his book ''Approach to Battle'' (1963), Tuker commented on his career: “I have tried my hand at many other things in my life - farming, commercial horticulture, authorship, training horses, painting, etching and engraving, and none have I found so testing and so difficult as the planning and conduct of a successful land battle against a worthy foe, whether against the guerrilla or the enemy who is fully equipped for war.”Sir Francis Ivan Simms Tuker, ''Approach to Battle, a Commentary: Eighth Army, November 1941 to May 1943'' (London: Cassell, 1963), p. 391


Publications

* * * * * * * *


References

Citations Sources * * *


External links


While Memory Serves
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuker, Francis Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Indian Army generals of World War II 1894 births 1967 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Royal Sussex Regiment officers People educated at Brighton College Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Indian Army generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War I