Major General Sir John Duncan, (24 February 1872 – 17 September 1948) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who commanded the

Shanghai Defence Force The Shanghai Defence Force was a tri-service military formation established by the British Government to protect European nationals and their property in Shanghai from Chinese nationalist forces during a period of tension in 1927. History Following ...

Military career

Duncan was educated at the Royal Military College, and joined the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

in 1891. He served on the North West Frontier of the British Raj from 1897 to 1898, before taking part in the

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

(1899–1901). He was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in November 1900. On 31 January 1902 he was seconded for service on the staff, and appointed

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

of the infantry brigade at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. In April 1904 he was again seconded for staff service. In July 1907 he succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Alister Dallas as a general staff officer, grade 2 (GSO2) at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. He was promoted from supernumerary captain to captain in November 1908. In December 1910 he was made a GSO2. Duncan served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, being promoted in July 1915 to lieutenant colonel seeing service in the Gallipoli campaign and succeeding Brigadier General Neill Malcolm as general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1) of the

11th (Northern) Division The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Fro ...

in September 1915. He was promoted to temporary brigadier general in May 1916 and appointed commander of the 78th Infantry Brigade, part of the 26th Division, which was serving on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

and where Duncan would remain for the rest of the war. He became acting

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the 22nd Division, also serving in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

with the

British Salonika Army The British Salonika Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I. After the armistice in November 1918, it was disbanded, but component units became the newly formed Army of the Black Sea, and General Milne remained in command. Fi ...

(BSA), in May 1917, before being promoted to temporary major general in June and becoming the division's permanent commander. In September 1919, three months after he was promoted to substantive major general, it was announced that he had been appointed Grand Officer of the

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

by the King of Romania "for distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign". He was also appointed to the Order of the White Eagle by the

King of Serbia This is an wiktionary:archontology, archontological list of Serbs, Serbian monarchs, containing Monarch, monarchs of the Serbia in the Middle Ages, medieval principalities, to heads of state of modern Serbia. The :Serbian monarchy, Serbian mona ...

. After the war he became major general on the general staff of the Army of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, formerly the BSA, from April to December 1919. He was appointed

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1920, an appointment he relinquished in May 1923, and succeeded Major General

Steuart Hare Major-General Sir Steuart Welwood Hare, (September 1867 – October 1952) was a British Army officer. Military career Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Hare was commissioned as a lieutenant into the King's Roy ...

as GOC

54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division f ...

in July 1923 and major general commanding the Shanghai Military Force in China from 1927 to 1928. The Shanghai Defence Force was established in January 1927 amidst concerns that British lives and properties were at risk during the unrest in China at the time. In practice he had to deal with a diplomatic incident when a British military plane made a forced landing on the International Race Course in Jiangwan. His last appointment was as GOC 1st Division at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

early in 1928 before relinquishing his command in May 1928 and retiring later that year. Duncan was chief commissioner of the

St John Ambulance Brigade St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunteer ...

from 1931 to 1943. He was appointed a Bailiff Grand Cross (the highest grade) of the

Venerable Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

in 1946.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, John 1872 births 1948 deaths People of the Gallipoli campaign British Army major generals Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John British Army generals of World War I British military attachés British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania)