Reginald Savory

Lieutenant General Sir Reginald Arthur Savory KCIE CB DSO MC (26 July 1894 − 14 June 1980) was a British Indian Army officer who served during both World War I and World War II.

For the New Zealand politician, see Reg Savory.

Reginald Arthur Savory
Lieutenant General Sir Reginald Savory in 1948.
Nickname(s)"Reg"
"Reggie"
Born26 July 1894
London, England[1]
Died14 June 1980 (aged 85)
Farnham, Surrey, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Indian Army
Years of service1914–1948
RankLieutenant General
Service number152412
Unit11th Sikh Regiment
Commands held1st Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment (1937–39)
11th Indian Infantry Brigade (1940–1941)
23rd Indian Division (1942–1943)
Battles/warsWorld War I
Russian Civil War
World War II
AwardsKCIE (31 December 1946)
CB (January 1944[2])
Distinguished Service Order[3] (1941)
Military Cross (2 June 1916)
Mentioned in despatches (December 1941,[4] December 1943[5])
Other workDeputy Lord Lieutenant of the County of Somerset (12 June 1952)
Commissioner Indian Military Service Family Pension Fund

Military career

Educated at Uppingham School, he then attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Savory was commissioned onto the Unattached List of the Indian Army and posted to the 14th Sikhs in 1914.[6] He served in World War I initially in Egypt and then took part in the Gallipoli campaign and then the Mesopotamian campaign.[6] Promoted to lieutenant on 14 April 1916,[7] he was awarded the Military Cross in June 1916.[8]

After the War Savory became Staff Captain with the British Military Mission to Vladivostok during the Russian Civil War.[6] He attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1927 to 1928.[9]

He went on to be an instructor at the Army School of Education in India in 1925 and an instructor at the Indian Military Academy in 1932 and was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment in 1937[6] (with promotion to lieutenant colonel on 6 December 1937).[10]

Savory initially served in World War II as Assistant Quartermaster-General for 5th Indian Division from 1939 (with promotion to colonel on 21 September 1939).[11][12] He went on to be commander of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 4th Indian Infantry Division, which was deployed in the Western Desert on various operations including Operation Compass from 1940 (with promotion to the temporary rank of brigadier on 2 April 1940).[13][12]

In early 1941 Savory took his brigade, part of 4th Indian Infantry Division, to Sudan and fought in the East African campaign. After the Battle of Keren the brigade returned to the campaign in the Western Desert, taking part in Operation Battleaxe.[14] Savory relinquished command of the brigade in September 1941 to serve as General Officer Commanding (GOC) Eritrea in the acting rank of major-general.[15][16] In January 1942 he was given command of 23rd Indian Division in Burma and in 1943 was appointed as Director of Infantry for India (with permanent promotion to major-general on 24 October 1943).[17] In 1945 he became General Officer Commanding Iraq.[18][19]

After the War Savory became Adjutant-General, India (with promotion to acting lieutenant-general on 15 March 1946),[20][21] and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire on 1 January 1947,[22] before retiring in May 1948.[6][23] After retirement, but when he was still on the Reserve List, his acting rank of lieutenant-general was in November 1949 made substantive with seniority backdated to September 1947.[24]

Savory was also colonel of the Sikh Light Infantry.[25] In retirement he wrote the book His Britannic Majesty's Army in Germany During the Seven Years' War (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1966).[6] He was also a deputy lieutenant of Somerset and was a justice of the peace.[9]

References
  1. Liddle, Peter (23 February 2011). Captured Memories, 1900–1918: Across the Threshold of War. ISBN 9781844686247.
  2. "No. 36309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 4.
  3. "No. 35209". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 1941. p. 3883.
  4. "No. 35396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 December 1941. p. 7353.
  5. "No. 36287". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 December 1943. p. 5476.
  6. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  7. "No. 29651". The London Gazette. 4 July 1916. p. 6615.
  8. "No. 29608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1916. p. 5577.
  9. Smart 2005, p. 280.
  10. "No. 34479". The London Gazette. 4 February 1938. p. 738.
  11. "No. 34832". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 April 1940. p. 2301.
  12. Mead 2007, p. 406.
  13. "No. 34880". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1940. p. 3847.
  14. Mead 2007, pp. 406–407.
  15. "No. 35740". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 October 1942. p. 4431.
  16. Mead 2007, p. 408.
  17. "No. 36293". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 December 1943. p. 5525.
  18. Ammentorp, Steen. "Generals of World War II". Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  19. Mead 2007, pp. 408–409.
  20. "No. 37579". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 May 1946. p. 2517.
  21. Mead 2007, p. 409.
  22. "No. 37835". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1946. p. 6.
  23. "No. 38321". The London Gazette. 11 June 1948. p. 3470.
  24. "No. 38757". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 November 1949. p. 5354.
  25. "No. 37524". The London Gazette. 5 April 1946. p. 1752.

Bibliography
  • Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus, London. pp. 623 pages.
  • Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
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