Cyril Deverell

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Sir Cyril Deverell
9 November 1874 - 12 May 1947
Field Marshal Sir Cyril Deverell
Place of birth	St Peter Port, Guernsey
Place of death	Lymington, Hampshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1895 - 1937
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	3rd Division 53rd (Welsh) Division Western Command Eastern Command
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Field Marshal Sir Cyril John Deverell GCB KBE ADC (9 November 1874 - 12 May 1947) was a British career military officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff between 1936 and 1937.

Contents 1 Army career 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External links

[edit] Army career

Educated at Bedford School he was commissioned into the Prince of Wales's West Yorkshire Regiment in 1895.^[1]

Deverell received his first command assignment in 1915 during World War I, when he was asked to command the 20th Brigade, 7th Division.^[1] The division was present at the Somme.^[1] It held a position on the 21st Division's right flank during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge and attacked the Switch Line to the east of High Wood; one of Deverell's men, Theodore William Henry Veale, won the Victoria Cross during this action.^[2] Several weeks later, Deverell was given command of the 3rd Division^[1] after its commander, Sir Aylmer Haldane, took over VI Corps.

Deverell formally took command on 7 August 1916. He led the division at Arras in 1917, then participated in the latter stages of Passchendaele. He returned to the Somme in 1918, before fighting alongside the Portuguese at the Battle of the Lys. The division participated in the Hundred Days Offensive, finally leading to the German surrender on 11 November 1918.^[3]

He commanded that division until 1919, when he took over command of the 53rd (Welsh) Division.^[3] In 1921 he moved to India, where he commanded the United Provinces District, served as Quartermaster-General and finally became Chief of the General Staff of India in 1930.^[3] He became Commander-in-Chief of Western Command and then Eastern Command^[3] and then served as Aide-de-Camp to King George V before being promoted to field marshal and assuming the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 15 May 1936.^[3] He would hold the latter office for 20 months before retiring from active service. He did not serve during World War II.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• The British Field Marshals 1736-1997, Tony Heathcote, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

[edit] External links

• Field Marshal Sir Cyril John Deverell
• The British Army in the Great War
• regiments.org

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd	Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1936–1937	Succeeded by The Viscount Gort

v • d • e Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff Sir William Nicholson • Sir John French • Sir Charles Douglas • Sir James Murray • Sir Archibald Murray • Sir William Robertson • Sir Henry Wilson • Lord Cavan • Sir George Milne • Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd • Sir Cyril Deverell • Viscount Gort • Sir Edmund Ironside • Sir John Dill • Sir Alan Brooke • Viscount Montgomery • Sir William Slim • Sir John Harding • Sir Gerald Templer • Sir Francis Festing • Sir Richard Hull Chiefs of the General Staff Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt