Brigadier General Herbert Cecil Duncan OBE (19 August 1895 – 16 January 1942) commanded the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade during the Battle of Malaya. Duncan was killed whilst mounting a counter-attack on the Japanese during the retreat from the Muar River (see Battle of Muar). Brig. Gen. Duncan is buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Kranji in Singapore.
Commissioned a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant in 1914, he got his permanent commission in the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in 1918. World War I service earned him a Mention in Despatches. Having the 13th Frontier Force Rifles as his maternal unit, he eventually served from 1931 onwards as a General Staff Officer in various gradations. He took command of the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade in 1941.