Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Herbert Cecil Duncan (19 August 1895 – 20 January 1942) was a British Indian Army officer who commanded the

45th Indian Infantry Brigade The 45th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in June 1941, at Ahmednagar in India and assigned to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. It was transferred to Malaya Comm ...

during the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

prior to the

Fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

Military career

Commissioned a temporary second lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders in 1914, Duncan received a permanent commission in the British Indian Army as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1918. His service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

earned him a

Mention in Despatches 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 ...

. Having the

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. History The 13th Frontier Force Rifles' ...

as his maternal British Indian Army unit, he eventually served from 1931 onwards as a General Staff Officer in various gradations. Duncan would earn a second Mention in Despatches during the Waziristan campaign of 1936–1939. He took command of the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade in June 1941. During the retreat from the Muar River in Malaya on 19 January 1941, Duncan was concussed during an air attack on his headquarters. The following day, during an attempt to break out of a Japanese encirclement in concert with Australian forces, he was killed while mounting a bayonet charge against a Japanese attack on the brigade's rear. Duncan is buried in the

Kranji War Cemetery The Kranji War Cemetery is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942 to 1945 and in other parts o ...

in Singapore.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
1895 births 1942 deaths Military personnel from Lanarkshire Seaforth Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I Indian Army personnel of World War I People from British Malaya Military of Singapore under British rule British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel killed in World War II Burials at Kranji War Cemetery British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War {{UK-mil-bio-stub