Gerard Bucknall

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Gerard Bucknall
Lt General Bucknall as Commander of XXX Corps, with his Brigadier General Staff Brigadier Pyman, 1944
Born	1894
Died	1980 (aged 85 or 86)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914 - 1948
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	2nd Bn The Middlesex Regiment 53rd (Welsh) Division XI Corps I Corps 5th Division XXX Corps Northern Ireland District
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Military Cross

Lieutenant General Gerard Corfield Bucknall, CB, MC, DL (1894–1980) was a British Army officer and corps commander during World War II.

Military career

Educated at West Downs School,^[1] Bucknall was commissioned into The Middlesex Regiment in 1914.^[2] He served with his Regiment in France, during World War I, with some distinction. Between the wars he served with the Egyptian Army^[2] (Egypt was then de facto part of the British Empire) and attended the Staff College, Camberley. He was commander of 2nd Battalion^[2] by the outbreak of the Second World War, to be succeeded by Brian Horrocks (who would later take up another of Bucknall's posts), by the time the British Expeditionary Force left for France. He was appointed GOC 53rd (Welsh) Division in 1941 and GOC XI Corps in East Anglia in September 1942^[3] before eventually seeing action from April 1943 as Commander of I Corps^[4] and then from August 1943 as General Officer Commanding the 5th Division in Sicily and Italy.^[2]

Bucknall impressed Montgomery and when he was appointed to command Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, he appointed Bucknall to command XXX Corps - Bucknall took command in January 1944.^[2] However, Alan Brooke, the CIGS, believed Bucknall to be unsuitable for command at that level. By August 1944 Bucknall was removed from his command,^[2] due to the relatively poor performance of XXX Corps, to be replaced by Horrocks. Montgomery conceded that it had been a mistake to appoint him and, in November 1944, Bucknall was given command of Northern Ireland, a post which he held until his retirement.^[2]

References

Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War, Nick Smart. ISBN 1-84415-049-6.
Caen 1944, Ken Ford. ISBN 1-84176-625-9

Military offices
Preceded by John Crocker	GOC XI Corps September 1942–April 1943	Succeeded by Gerald Templer
Preceded by Sir Frederick Morgan	GOC I Corps April 1943–August 1943	Succeeded by Sir John Crocker
Preceded by Horatio Berney-Ficklin	General Officer Commanding the 5th Division 1943–1944	Succeeded by Philip Gregson-Ellis
Preceded by Oliver Leese	GOC XXX Corps January 1944–July 1944	Succeeded by Brian Horrocks
Preceded by Sir Alan Cunningham	General Officer Commanding the British Army in Northern Ireland 1944–1948	Succeeded by Sir Ouvry Roberts
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir John Crocker	Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex 1963–1965	Office abolished

Persondata
Name	Bucknall, Gerard Corfield
Alternative names
Short description	British Army general
Date of birth	1894
Place of birth
Date of death	1980
Place of death

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