Military Career
Educated at West Downs School, Bucknall was commissioned into The Middlesex Regiment in 1914. He served with his Regiment in France, during World War I, with some distinction. Between the wars he served with the Egyptian Army (Egypt was then de facto part of the British Empire) and attended the Staff College, Camberley. He was commander of 2nd Battalion by the outbreak of the Second World War, to be succeeded by Brian Horrocks (who would later take up another of Bucknall's posts), by the time the British Expeditionary Force left for France. He was appointed GOC 53rd (Welsh) Division in 1941 and GOC XI Corps in East Anglia in September 1942 before eventually seeing action from April 1943 as Commander of I Corps and then from August 1943 as General Officer Commanding the 5th Division in Sicily and Italy.
Bucknall impressed Montgomery and when he was appointed to command Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, he appointed Bucknall to command XXX Corps - Bucknall took command in January 1944. However, Alan Brooke, the CIGS, believed Bucknall to be unsuitable for command at that level. By August 1944 Bucknall was removed from his command, due to the relatively poor performance of XXX Corps, to be replaced by Horrocks. Montgomery conceded that it had been a mistake to appoint him and, in November 1944, Bucknall was given command of Northern Ireland, a post which he held until his retirement.
Read more about this topic: Gerard Bucknall
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