Charles Hamilton Boucher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charles Hamilton Boucher | |
|---|---|
| 1898 - 1951 | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Indian Army |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands held | 10th Indian Infantry Brigade 1942) 17th Indian Infantry Brigade 1944 to 1945)) Indian 4th Infantry Division (1945) Indian 2nd Airborn Division (1946 to 1947) |
| Battles/wars | Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia Western Desert Campaign Italian Campaign |
| Awards | KBE (1949)[1] CB (1945)[2] CBE DSO (1936)[3] DSO (1945)[4] |
Major-General Sir Charles Boucher KBE,CB, DSO and bar (born 1898; died 1951) was an officer in the British Indian Army during World War II.
Whilst commanding Indian 10th Infantry Brigade he was captured on 6 June 1942 during the fighting in the Knightsbridge Cauldron when his headquarters were overrun. He was held as a POW in Italy until the Italian Armistice with Italy in 1943 when he made his way back to the Allied lines in southern Italy.
In February 1944 he assumed command of Indian 8th Infantry Division's 17th Infantry Brigade, leading them through the final Battle of Monte Cassino, the advance north of Rome and the fighting on the Gothic Line.
In January 1945 Boucher took command of Indian 4th Infantry Division which had been sent to Greece in November 1944 to help stabilise the country after the Axis withdrawal.
[edit] Army Career
? Commissioned attached to 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)
1917 Promoted Lieutenant[5]
? Transferred to 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles (before 1936[3] 1938 - 1940 Instructor at Staff College Camberley
1940 General Staff Officer 1
1941 Brigadier General Staff Paiforce, Iraq
1942 Commanding Officer 10th Indian Infantry Brigade, North Africa
1942 - 1943 Prisoner of War, Italy
1943 Escaped
1944 - 1945 Commanding Officer 17th Indian Brigade, Italy
1945 General Officer Commanding Indian 4th Infantry Division, Greece
1946 - 1947 General Officer Commanding Indian 2nd Airborne Division
1948 - 1950 General Officer Commanding Malaya District
1948 - 1950 Major-General Brigade of Gurkhas, Malaya
1950 Retired
[edit] References
- Ammentorp, Steen. Generals of World War II. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- Anon (1946). One More River: The Story of The Eighth Indian Division. Bombay: H.W. Smith, Times of India Press.
- MacKenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus, London, 623 pages.
- Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. World War II unit histories and officers. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38782, page 5905, 9 December 1949.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37386, page 6055, 11 December 1945.
- ^ a b London Gazette: no. 34282, page 2978, 8 May 1936.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36928, page 795, 8 February 1945.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 30655, page 5071, 26 April 1918.
