Sir George Erskine | |
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Nickname(s) | "Bobby"[1] |
Born | Hascombe, Surrey, England | 23 August 1899
Died | 29 August 1965 Rusper, West Sussex, England | (aged 66)
Buried | Saint Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Rusper |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1918–1958 |
Rank | General |
Service number | 15806 |
Unit | King's Royal Rifle Corps |
Commands | Southern Command (1955–58) East Africa Command (1953–55) Eastern Command (1952–53) British Troops in Egypt (1949–52) British Forces in Hong Kong (1946–48) 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (1945–46) 7th Armoured Division (1943–44) 69th Infantry Brigade (1941–42) 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1940–41) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches |
Relations | Major General George Elphinstone Erskine (father) |
General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine, GCB, KBE, DSO (23 August 1899 – 29 August 1965) was a British Army officer from Hascombe, Surrey. After he graduated from Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Erskine was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps and saw action on the Western Front of the First World War. During the Second World War, he commanded the 7th Armoured Division from 1943 to 1944. Erksine later commanded counterinsurgency operations against the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA) during the Mau Mau rebellion.[2]