Henry Willcox

Sir Henry Willcox
Born	30 April 1889
Died	15 August 1968 (aged 79)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	c.1910-1946
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Sherwood Foresters
Commands held	15th Infantry Brigade 13th Infantry Brigade 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division I Corps Central Command, India
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Military Cross

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Beresford Dennitts Willcox KCIE CB DSO MC (30 April 1889 - 15 August 1968) was a British Army General during World War II.^[1]

Military career

Willcox was commissioned into the Sherwood Foresters from the New Zealand Forces on 20 December 1911.^[2][3] While still only a second lieutenant, he was appointed the regimental adjutant on 21 September 1914 as the previous adjutant had been killed in action.^[4] He was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant on 21 October 1914 (substantive from 21 November^[5]) and awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 18 February 1915.^[6][7] He was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on 1 May 1915, relinquishing this rank on 14 December.^[8][9] Seconded to the staff as a temporary captain on 22 March 1916,^[10] he was appointed a brigade major on 29 June and was promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 1 October.^[11][12] He served in World War I ultimately as a General Staff Officer on the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in 1917.^[2] He was attached to headquarters on 9 November 1917.^[13] On 16 December 1917, he was appointed a GSO 2 with the temporary rank of major and was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) around this time.^[14] He relinquished this post and rank on 1 July 1918 and was reappointed in the same rank and position on 1 March 1919.^[15][16]

After the War he became a General Staff Officer (Grade 3) in his substantive rank of captain on 25 February 1920.^[17] He served initially in the Home Forces, then at Aldershot, then in Mesopotamia and Iraq, then at Southern Command and finally at the Staff College.^[2] He relinquished his position of brigade major on 5 December 1922,^[18] and was appointed a GSO 3 on 21 January 1927.^[19] On 9 July 1927, he was promoted to major (seniority from 2 June), and brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1929.^[20][21] On 21 January 1930, he was appointed a GSO 2 at the Staff College.^[22]

In 1936 he became Assistant Adjutant General for Palestine and Transjordan and in 1937 he was made an Instructor at the Staff College in Quetta in India 1937.^[2] He was appointed Commander of 15th Infantry Brigade in 1938 and of 13th Infantry Brigade in 1939.^[2]

He served in World War II becoming General Officer Commanding 42nd Division in 1940,^[23] GOC I Corps later in 1940 and then GOC Central Command, India in 1942 and Chairman of the Army Reorganisation Committee set up to consider India's postwar needs in 1944; he retired in 1946.^[2]

He was also Colonel of the Sherwood Foresters from 1946 to 1947.^[2]

References

1. Unithistories - British Officers
2. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
3. The London Gazette: no. 28563. p. 9564. 19 December 1911. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
4. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28999. p. 10427. 4 December 1914. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
5. The London Gazette: no. 29106. p. 2739. 19 March 1915. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29096. p. 2480. 9 March 1915. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29074. p. 1695. 16 February 1915. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
8. The London Gazette: no. 29254. p. 7743. 6 August 1915. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29504. p. 2760. 10 March 1916. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29555. p. 4121. 18 April 1916. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
11. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29686. p. 7460. 25 July 1916. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
12. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29811. p. 10621. 31 October 1916. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
13. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30475. p. 807. 11 January 1918. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
14. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30582. p. 3403. 15 March 1918. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
15. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30938. p. 11804. 4 October 1918. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
16. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31292. p. 4853. 11 April 1919. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
17. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31848. p. 4024. 30 March 1920. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
18. The London Gazette: no. 32793. p. 707. 30 January 1923. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
19. The London Gazette: no. 33243. p. 580. 28 January 1927. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
20. The London Gazette: no. 33292. p. 4411. 8 July 1927. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
21. The London Gazette: no. 33513. p. 4363. 2 July 1929. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
22. The London Gazette: no. 33574. p. 576. 28 January 1930. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
23. Generals.dk