Major-General William Reginald Cox CB, DSO (13 June 1905 – 12 June 1988) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 1st Battalion,

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

in the Western European Campaign from June 1944 until Victory in Europe Day in May 1945. He later served as colonel of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.

Military career

Educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Cox joined the British Army and was 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 ...

in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry on 29 January 1925. 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 i ...

, he served in World War II, initially as a staff officer and then as

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 ...

(CO) of the 11th Battalion,

from July 1942 (reconstituted as the 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment from January 1943) until September 1943. Towards the end of the war he commanded the

131st Infantry Brigade The 131st Infantry Brigade, originally the Surrey Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Territorial Army that saw service during both the First and the Second World Wars. In the First World War the brigade was in British India for most ...

of the 7th Armoured Division, the

69th Infantry Brigade The 69th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army in the Second World War. It was a second-line Territorial Army formation, and fought in the Battle of France with the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division. The brigade was later part ...

of the

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War. Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two ''Ts'' in the divisional ins ...

and the 129th Infantry Brigade of the

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

. After the war he became brigadier on the general staff at Western Command in 1948, Deputy Director of Infantry in June 1953 and

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

at Southern Command in March 1954. He went on to be General Officer Commanding (GOC) Mid West District and

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

in March 1955 and Director, Territorial Army, Cadets and Home Guard in February 1958. He retired in August 1960. Cox became colonel of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in November 1957. He died on 12 June 1988 at Salisbury.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, William Reginald 1905 births 1988 deaths Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army brigadiers of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from Herefordshire Military personnel from Herefordshire British Army major generals