Major General Ian David Erskine, (17 March 1898 – 27 July 1973) 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.

Early life

Erskine was born in London, the son of Alan David Erskine and Enid Rate. He was the grandson of Sir Henry David Erskine and the great-grandson of Francis Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford. Erskine was educated at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by th ...

and

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

then 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 ...

Military career

Erskine commissioned into the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

on 1 May 1917 and in August was deployed to the Western Front. Erskine was injured in October that year but returned to the front in October 1918. He served as adjutant at the Guards Depot between 1921 and 1923, before serving as regimental adjutant of the Scots Guards until July 1932. In September 1933 Erskine was promoted to major and between 1933 and 1935 undertook training at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

. Between 1935 and 1939, Erskine was Brigade Major, 1st Guards Brigade, and served with the brigade in the Arab revolt in Palestine. Between 1939 and June 1940, Erskine was an instructor and then commandant of the Tactical School Middle East, before becoming commanding officer, 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. Between February and October 1941 he was commander of the 22nd Guards Brigade in Egypt, during which time he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. In 1942 he was Major-General Commanding Troops & Commandant

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, ...

, and he was promoted to acting major general in April that year. From 1943 to 1945 Erskine was Brigade Commander, 148 Pre-OCTU Training Establishments. From 1945 and 1948, Erskine was

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French (Modern French ). While a provost marshal is now usually a senior c ...

of the Army at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. He retired with the rank of major general in May 1949. He was invested as a

Commander 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 1947 and as 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 1949.

Personal life

Erskine married Mariora Beatrice Evelyn Rochfort Alers-Hankey, daughter of Colonel Cecil George Herbert Alers-Hankey and Getrude Clare Fetherstonhaugh, on 1 March 1945.

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Ian 1898 births 1973 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Ian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People educated at Winchester College People educated at Sandroyd School Scots Guards officers British Army major generals British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Military personnel from London British Army brigadiers of World War II