George Erskine
In 1941 he was appointed commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, KRRC, which was then part of the 69th Infantry Brigade, and was sent to North Africa,[4] where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in November 1942.[3][5] He served as Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of XIII Corps, commanded by William Gott, a fellow officer of the KRRC, then Brian Horrocks and Miles Dempsey in 1942.[7] Shortly afterwards, in the difficult bocage country during Operation Bluecoat, the 7th Armoured Division failed to gain its objectives and Erskine was sacked and replaced by Gerald Lloyd-Verney.In spite of his indifferent performance as a field commander, Erskine had qualities which suited him to other roles and this episode proved only a temporary setback to his career.[4] In a letter to the British government, not made public until 2005, Erskine described his direct knowledge of atrocities committed by the security forces during the suppression of the uprising, including instances of torture and murder: "There is no doubt that in the early days... there was a great deal of indiscriminate shooting by army and police.
George Elphinstone ErskineHascombeSurreyRusperWest SussexBritish ArmyGeneralService numberKing's Royal Rifle CorpsSouthern CommandEast Africa CommandEastern CommandBritish Troops in EgyptBritish Forces in Hong Kong43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division7th Armoured Division69th Infantry BrigadeFirst World WarSecond World WarNorth African campaignItalian campaignOperation OverlordBattle of NormandyBattle of IsmailiaMau Mau UprisingKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathKnight Commander of the Order of the British EmpireDistinguished Service OrderMentioned in DespatchesRoyal Military College, SandhurstWestern FrontcounterinsurgencyKenya Land and Freedom ArmyMau Mau rebellionJohn Erskine of CarnockCharterhouse Schoolcommissionedsecond lieutenantFrance and BelgiumStaff College, CamberleyQuartermaster GeneralNeil RitchieWilloughby NorrieWilliam GottGeneral Staff Officer1st London DivisionTerritorial Armycommanding officerNorth AfricaXIII CorpsBrian HorrocksMiles DempseyGeneral Officer CommandingNormandySecond ArmyVIII CorpsRichard O'ConnorOperation GoodwoodbocageOperation BluecoatGerald Lloyd-VerneySupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary ForceCommander of British Forces in Hong Kongcolonial policeOperation AnvilNairobiChuka massacreBritish governmentKnight Commander of the Order of the BathAide-de-Camp Generalthe QueenLieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of JerseyThe London GazetteNational Portrait Gallery, LondonJohn HardingGOC 7th Armoured DivisionIvor ThomasGOC 43rd (Wessex) Infantry DivisionJohn ChurcherSir Francis FestingFrancis MatthewsRichard GaleGOC British Troops in EgyptSir Gerald TemplerGOC-in-C Eastern CommandSir Geoffrey BourneSir Alexander CameronGOC East Africa CommandSir Gerald LathburySir Ernest DownGOC-in-C Southern CommandSir Nigel PoettSir Gresham NicholsonLieutenant Governor of JerseySir Michael Villiers