Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

William Denman Croft, (15 March 1879 – 14 July 1968) 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. He served as a brigadier general in the British Army 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 ...

, and afterwards in India. He was one of seven British officers to be awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

four times in the First World War. He was

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

commander in Cornwall during the Second World War.

Early life

Croft was the third son of Conservative MP Sir Herbert George Denman Croft, 9th Baronet and his wife, Georgiana Eliza Lucy Marsh. He was educated at

Oxford Military College Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876 to 1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxfor ...

. He joined the 4th (

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) battalion of

The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

as a second lieutenant on 23 February 1898, and was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on 28 June 1899. He received a commission in the regular army when he transferred to the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) as a second lieutenant on 7 March 1900, to replace an officer killed in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. After being seconded to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

in 1903, he served in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, where he is reputed to have been wounded by a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

in 1907. In 1912, Croft married Esmé Sutton, daughter of Sir Arthur Edwin Sutton, 7th Baronet. They had at least four children, including two sons who served in India in the Second World War, where one was killed in action.

First World War

Croft served on the Western Front in the First World War, and was mentioned in despatches ten times. At the beginning of the war, Captain Croft was serving as adjutant of the 5th Battalion of the Cameronians. By December 1915, he was temporary lieutenant colonel in command of the 11th Battalion of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

. He was then promoted to the rank of temporary brigadier general to command the 27th Infantry Brigade, in the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

, in September 1917, remaining in command until 1919. In little over two years, from January 1917 to February 1919, he was awarded the

(DSO) four times. He received his first DSO on 1 January 1917, and a first bar was gazetted 9 days later. He received a second bar in July 1918, and a third bar in February 1919. He became a brevet lieutenant colonel in January 1918, a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in January 1919, and an Officier of French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in August 1919. After the war, Croft published an account of his war service, under the title ''Three years with the 9th (Scottish) Division''.

Later life

Croft transferred to the

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

in 1920 where he became a lieutenant colonel in 1923. He was temporary brigadier again while Commandant of the Royal Tanks Corps Centre between 1929 and 1931. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1925, with seniority from 1922, and served as an instructor at

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment established in 1916 by Brigadier-General R.J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-service cooperation. It was established as part of a ...

in 1927. He became temporary brigadier and commander of the Nowshera Brigade in India in 1931. He fought in the Mohmand Operations in 1933, where he was mentioned in despatches, and retired from the military in 1934 with the rank of honorary brigadier general. He became a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1935. In the Second World War, Croft was a

commander in Cornwall.

References

* http://www.thepeerage.com/p8176.htm
William Denman Croft
National Portrait Gallery
‘CROFT, Brig.-General William Denman’
Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
Delville Wood: Somme
Nigel Cave p. 45 * 'CROFT, Brig.-General William Denman', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 13 March 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, William Denham 1879 births 1968 deaths British Army brigadiers British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Legion of Honour Royal Scots officers British Home Guard officers Younger sons of baronets Cameronians officers King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers