The Viscount Alanbrooke | |
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3rd Chancellor of the Queen's University Belfast | |
In office 1949–1963 | |
Monarchs | George VI, Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | The 7th Marquess of Londonderry |
Succeeded by | Sir Tyrone Guthrie |
Personal details | |
Born | Alan Francis Brooke 23 July 1883 Bagnères-de-Bigorre, France[1] |
Died | 17 June 1963 Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England | (aged 79)
Nickname(s) | "Brookie"[2] "Colonel Shrapnel"[3] |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | British Army |
Years of service | 1902–1946 |
Rank | Field Marshal |
Unit | Royal Artillery |
Commands | Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1941–1946) Home Forces (1940–1941) II Corps (1939–1940) Southern Command (1939) Mobile Division (1937) 8th Infantry Brigade (1934–1935) School of Artillery (1929–1932) |
Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
Awards | Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Member of the Order of Merit Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches (7) See below |
Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Second World War, and was promoted to field marshal on 1 January 1944.[4] As chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Brooke was the foremost military advisor to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and had the role of co-ordinator of the British military efforts in the Allies' victory in 1945. After retiring from the British Army, he served as Lord High Constable of England during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. His war diaries attracted attention for their criticism of Churchill and for Brooke's forthright views on other leading figures of the war.