General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Cecil Hugh Blacker (4 June 1916 – 18 October 2002) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and a former

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

Military career

Educated at Wellington College and at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, Cecil Blacker was commissioned into the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

in January 1936.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He was

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the regiment during the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in May/June 1940, in the opening months of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Obituary: General Sir Cecil Blacker
The Times, 23 October 2002 He later transferred to the 23rd Hussars which then formed part of the

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armour ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1944 following

Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...

and went on to become

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...

of the 23rd Hussars in 1945. Blacker commanded the

from 1955 to 1957. He was then Military Assistant to the

Chief of the Imperial General Staff Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the A ...

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Sir

Gerald Templer Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part against the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Pales ...

from 1958 to 1960. He was appointed Commander of 39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland in 1962 and was then

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the 3rd Division from 1964 to 1966. He was appointed

-in-Chief Northern Command in 1969 and then went on to become Vice Chief of the General Staff in 1970 before becoming Adjutant General in 1973: he held this post until he retired in 1976. In 1974 his home was badly damaged by an IRA bombCrime in Britain Today
/ref> He was ADC General to the Queen from 1974 to 1976. He was also Colonel of the

from 1972 to 1981. Blacker was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1967, a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1969 and a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

in 1975. He was also appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1960. He lived in

Hook Norton Hook Norton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It lies northeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Chipping Norton, close to the Cotswold Hills. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded ...

near

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

in Oxfordshire.

Showjumping

Blacker was an Amateur

Steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

r and International

Showjumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Equest ...

. He rode in the 1948

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

. He rode Pointsman to win the Grand Military Gold Cup at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

in 1954. He represented Great Britain in Showjumping from 1959 to 1961. He was President both of the British Showjumping Association from 1976 to 1980 and of the British Equestrian Federation from 1980 to 1984. He was a member of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board from 1980 to 1983.

Family

In 1947 he married Felicity Mary Rew and together they went on to have two sons, writer

Terence Blacker Terence Blacker (born 5 February 1948) is an English songwriter, author and columnist. Early life and education Blacker was born near Hadleigh, Suffolk. He is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker, and the brother of sculptor and former jockey ...

and sculptor and former jockey

Philip Blacker Philip Blacker (b. 1949) was a jockey until his retirement in 1982. Since then, he has been a sculptor of sporting arts. He is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker. Career Jockey Blacker became a professional jockey at the start of the 196 ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blacker, Cecil 1916 births 2002 deaths Sportspeople from York People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers 23rd Hussars officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross English jockeys British Army personnel of World War II British Army generals British show jumping riders British male equestrians Military personnel from York