Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks commanding XIII Corps in North Africa, 1942
Nickname(s)
"Jorrocks"[a]
Born
(1895-09-07)7 September 1895 Ranikhet, India
Died
4 January 1985(1985-01-04) (aged 89) Fishbourne, West Sussex, England
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
British Army
Years of service
1913–1949
Rank
Lieutenant-general
Service number
5821
Unit
Middlesex Regiment
Commands held
British Army of the Rhine (1948) Western Command (1946–48) XXX Corps (1944–45) IX Corps (1943) X Corps (1942–43) XIII Corps (1942) 9th Armoured Division (1942) 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division (1941–42) 9th Infantry Brigade (1940–41) 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (1940)
Battles/wars
First World War Russian Civil War Anglo Irish War Second World War
Awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3)[2][3][4] Commander of the Order of George I (Greece) Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown with Palm (Belgium) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) Commandeur of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre (France) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Other work
Black Rod Television presenter Author
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War. He also served in the First World War and the Russian Civil War, was taken prisoner twice, and competed in the modern pentathlon at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Later he was a television presenter, wrote books on military history, and was Black Rod in the House of Lords for 14 years.
In 1940 Horrocks commanded a battalion during the Battle of France, the first time he served under Bernard Montgomery, the most prominent British commander of the war. Montgomery later identified Horrocks as one of his most able officers, appointing him to corps commands in both North Africa and Europe. In 1943, Horrocks was seriously wounded and took more than a year to recover before returning to command a corps in Europe. It is likely that this period out of action meant he missed out on promotion;[5] his contemporary corps commanders in North Africa, Oliver Leese and Miles Dempsey, went on to command at army level and above. Horrocks' wound continued to impair his health and led to his early retirement from the army after the war.
Since 1945, Horrocks has been regarded by some as one of the most successful British generals of the war, "a man who really led, a general who talked to everyone, down to the simplest private soldier" and the "beau ideal of a corps commander".[6][7]
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in Western Europe, called him "the outstanding British general under Montgomery".[8]
^Mead 2007, p. 213.
^"No. 36065". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 June 1943. p. 2853.
^"No. 36994". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 1945. p. 1548.
^"No. 37213". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 1945. p. 4044.
^Warner 1984, p. 77.
^Granatstein 2005, p. 265.
^Mead 2007, p. 210.
^Warner 1984, p. 72.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
identified Horrocks as one of his most able officers, appointing him to corps commands in both North Africa and Europe. In 1943, Horrocks was seriously...
Horrocks or Horrox may refer to Amy Horrocks (1867 – 1919), English music educator, pianist and composer BrianHorrocks (1895–1985), British Army lieutenant-general...
Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar and the British XXX Corps under Lieutenant-general BrianHorrocks. Veritable was the northern pincer movement and started with XXX Corps...
Battle of El Alamein upon the recommendation of Lieutenant-General BrianHorrocks, who turned the command down in his favour. During the night of 24/25...
morning of 17 September Horrocks was given confirmation that the operation was to take place that day. At 12:30 hours Horrocks received a signal that the...
concealed from Axis reconnaissance. Staff from X Corps (Lieutenant-General BrianHorrocks) were seconded to provide adequate HQ personnel for the new New Zealand...
Minoru Genda, W. Averell Harriman, Sir Arthur Harris, Alger Hiss, BrianHorrocks, Traudl Junge, Toshikazu Kase, Curtis LeMay, Vera Lynn, Hasso von Manteuffel...
Horrocks Barracks was a military installation in Schloss Neuhaus, Germany. Horrocks Barracks was located in the grounds of Schloss Neuhaus, about four...
(Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese) and XIII Corps (Lieutenant-General BrianHorrocks), while X Corps (Lieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden) was to exploit...
Bucknall for being insufficiently aggressive and replaced him with General BrianHorrocks. At the same time, Montgomery ordered Patton—whose Third Army was supposed...
corps, the V Corps (Charles Allfrey), IX Corps (John Crocker, later BrianHorrocks), U.S. II Corps (Lloyd Fredendall, later George Patton and Omar Bradley)...
at the War Office in 1919. William Heaton Horrocks was the son of William Holden Horrocks of Bolton. Horrocks studied for his M.B. at Owen's College and...
Gabriel Elorde, Filipino professional boxer (b. 1935) January 4 – Sir BrianHorrocks, British general (b. 1895) January 5 – Robert L. Surtees, American cinematographer...
operation called "Supercharge II". On 26 March, X Corps (Lieutenant-General BrianHorrocks) drove around the Matmata Hills, capturing the Tebaga Gap and the town...
was John Crocker at the start of the operation, Lieutenant-general BrianHorrocks took over command on 29 April when Crocker was injured Chant 1986, "Vulcan"...
Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery 1946–1948 Lieutenant General Sir BrianHorrocks 1948 Lieutenant General Sir Charles Keightley 1948–1951 General Sir...
Royal Regiment from 2005. It closed in 2019. Horrocks Barracks, named after General Sir BrianHorrocks, was home to various minor organisational units...
President's Men Ben Bradlee 1977 (31st) Edward Fox A Bridge Too Far BrianHorrocks Colin Blakely Equus Frank Strang Robert Duvall Network Frank Hackett...
airshow performer; captured in 1944 and escaped from Stalag Luft I BrianHorrocks – British WW2 general, WWI POW in Germany and Russia Wilm Hosenfeld...
Given the first day's success, XXX Corps′ commander—Lieutenant General BrianHorrocks—directed that the last two phases—3 and 4—should be combined on the...
to right: Christopher Vokes, Harry Crerar, Sir Bernard Montgomery, BrianHorrocks (both British Army), Guy Simonds, Daniel Spry and Bruce Mathews, all...
Armoured Division 1941–1942 Succeeded by Jock Campbell Preceded by Reade Godwin-Austen GOC XIII Corps February–August 1942 Succeeded by BrianHorrocks...
Global Information