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Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke

The Viscount Alanbrooke
General Sir Alan Brooke, as he then was, as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1942. He was promoted to field marshal in January 1944.
3rd Chancellor of the Queen's University Belfast
In office
1949–1963
MonarchsGeorge VI, Elizabeth II
Preceded byThe 7th Marquess of Londonderry
Succeeded bySir Tyrone Guthrie
Personal details
Born
Alan Francis Brooke

(1883-07-23)23 July 1883
Bagnères-de-Bigorre, France[1]
Died17 June 1963(1963-06-17) (aged 79)
Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England
Nickname(s)"Brookie"[2]
"Colonel Shrapnel"[3]
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1902–1946
RankField Marshal
UnitRoyal Artillery
CommandsChief 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/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight 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.

  1. ^ "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. ^ Fraser (1982), p. 87.
  3. ^ Alanbrooke (2001), Introduction, p. xv
  4. ^ Bryant, Arthur (1959). Triumph in the West. Collins. p. 128.

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