General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Basil Oscar Paul Eugster, (15 August 1914 – 5 April 1984) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer who served as Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces from 1972 to 1974.

Army career

A British soldier of Swiss descent, Basil Oscar Paul Eugster attended

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eton ...

. In 1935 he joined the

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served with his regiment through the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and fought in the Narvik Campaign in Norway in 1940. He was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of the 3rd Battalion

in 1945, and again in 1947, and of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards from 1951 to 1954. Eugster served as commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

from 1959 to 1962 and was then General Officer Commanding 4th Division in Germany from 1963 to 1965. He went on to become Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District from 1965 to 1968 and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong from 1968 to 1970. In 1966, Eugster was awarded the Austrian Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star. He was then General Officer Commanding Southern Command from 1971 to 1972. He served as the Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces from 1972 to 1974 when he retired.

Later career

Eugster was

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalio ...

of the

until his death in 1984, aged 69.Irish Guards: History
/ref>

References

External links

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eugster, Basil 1914 births 1984 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria British people of Swiss descent Irish Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II British Army generals British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Place of birth missing Place of death missing