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 ...

Geoffrey Kemp Bourne, Baron Bourne, (5 October 1902 – 26 June 1982) 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

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 ...

in 1923, Bourne served in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

from 1930 to 1932, in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

from 1933 and 1934, in the Staff College, Camberley in 1935 and 1936, and in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

in 1937. In 1938 and 1939, he was General Staff Officer 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 ...

. 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 ...

, Bourne was a member of the Joint Planning Staff between 1939 and 1941, and a member of the Joint Staff Mission in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1942. In 1944, he was Commander of the 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, fighting in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and member of the General Staff Airborne Corps fighting in Belgium. Between 1945 and 1946, Bourne commanded the 5th Indian Division, in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and worked at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1947. He was Head of the British Mission to Burma in 1948 and Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from 1949 to 1951. Between 1951 and 1953 he commanded

16th Airborne Division The 16th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Territorial Army. It was first commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart, and had its divisional headquarters in London. It was raised in 1947, to compensate for the lo ...

, was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command between 1953 and 1954, and General Officer Commanding Malaya between 1954 and 1956. Bourne was Commander-in-Chief,

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

in 1957 and Commandant of the Imperial Defence College between 1958 and 1959. He retired in 1960. Bourne was also

Aide-de-Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post-nominals "ADC (Gen.)". T ...

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in 1959 and 1960, Colonel Commandant of the

from 1954 to 1967 and Honorary Colonel, 10 Battalion The Parachute Regiment, Territorial Army from 1960 to 1965.

Personal life

On 11 July 1928, Bourne married Agnes Evelyn Thompson, daughter of Sir Ernest Thompson. The couple had one son, the Hon. Michael Bourne (1937–2013) and one daughter. Lady Bourne died in 1990. Bourne was invested as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, as a Knight 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 o ...

, and as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. On 22 August 1964, he was created a life peer with the title Baron Bourne, ''of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire w ...

in the

County of Warwick Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

''.

Arms

References

External links

Generals of World War II
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne, Geoffrey 1902 births 1982 deaths Military personnel from London People from Kensington British Army generals British Army brigadiers of World War II Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Life peers Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry officers Life peers created by Elizabeth II