Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Eric Bertram Rowcroft (28 January 1891 – 27 December 1963), 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 Gur ...

officer. His military career started in 1908 as a TA Officer in the Royal Engineers and retired at the rank of Major General in 1946. He is noted for his involvement in the formation of The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and the planning of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

Family and education

Rowcroft was the son of Colonel George Francis Rowcroft. He was educated at Haileybury and 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 ...

Military career

After his initial involvement with the TA, Rowcroft received his commission in 1911 after he passed out of Sandhurst into the Army Service Corps. At the outbreak of 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 fig ...

he served with the BEF overseas serving with various mechanical transport units. By 1918, Rowcroft worked 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 (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

in a technical capacity. During the interwar period he served in India, Ceylon and even at the Tank Inspection Department, at Woolwich Arsenal. His Army Career continued along the Technical route when in 1936 he was appointed Commander

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and d ...

(RASC), 1st Division in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

during the

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, later known as The Great Revolt (''al-Thawra al- Kubra'') or The Great Palestinian Revolt (''Thawrat Filastin al-Kubra''), was a popular nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine a ...

Second World War

On 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Rowcroft was in command of the RASC Training Battalion, back in the UK. However the repair and recovery element within the British Army was divided between the various service corps of the time, this was considered inefficient. By 1942 REME was formed to recover and maintain the army's equipment, both in the battlefield and in the rear area, with Rowcroft becoming its first Director.

Later life

For his efforts during the Second World War Rowcroft was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a care ...

(CB) in 1944, and in 1946 on his retirement from the Army he became a Knight 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 ...

(KBE). However, his involvement in the REME continued until 1956, as he served in the capacity of Colonel Commandant. During his later years he got heavily involved in local affairs in his home town of

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

, where he died in 1963.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowcroft, Eric Bertram 1891 births 1963 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army generals of World War II Royal Army Service Corps officers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Military personnel from London British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine War Office personnel in World War II