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 Francis Robert Roy Bucher (31 August 1895 – 5 January 1980) was a British Indian Army officer who became the second Commander-in-Chief of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and the final non-Indian to hold the top post of the

after Partition.

Military career

Educated at the Edinburgh Academy, and was commissioned from 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 ...

as a Second Lieutenant into the Unattached List for the Indian Army, 15 August 1914. He was attached to the 4th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in the UK from 25 August 1914 to 30 April 1915, when he joined the regiment's 1st Battalion in France. He remained there until 8 November 1915, when he transferred to the 55th Cokes Rifles in India. Confirmed as a second lieutenant in the Indian Army on 5 September 1915, he was promoted to lieutenant on 15 November 1916 (back-dated to 1 September 1915 on 17 August 1917). He transferred to the 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers in 1916, and was promoted to acting captain on 23 May 1917, again receiving the rank from 16 October 1917, and was promoted to the substantive rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 15 August 1918. After the War he served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

during the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

, for which he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) "for distinguished service in the Field in the Afghan War, 1919". He was sent on the course 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 ...

in 1926. He was appointed a General Staff Officer 3rd Grade from 7 July 1929 to 15 June 1931 then Deputy Assistant Adjutant General from 16 June 1931 to 6 April 1933 for the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

District in India.Half Yearly Army List January 1946 p.59 He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 15 August 1932, and brevetted lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1937. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 November 1939, Bucher served in

World War II 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 ...

, initially as

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of Sam Browne's Cavalry, then Assistant Commandant, Indian Cavalry Training Centre 1 March 1940 to 31 August 1940 then Commandant Indian Cavalry Training Centre 1 September 1940 to 23 January 1941. He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General at GHQ India from 24 January 1941 to 23 June 1941. He was made Assistant Quartermaster General in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

later that year and was put in charge of Administration at Southern Command in India on 21 March 1942, with the acting rank of major-general. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 21 July 1942 (with seniority from 1 July 1940), and advanced to temporary major-general on 21 March 1943. He was appointed a Companion 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 ...

(CB) in the 1945 New Year Honours, and Bucher was promoted to the substantive rank of major-general on 6 April 1945 (with seniority from 5 June 1944). After the War he was appointed

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 ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Area in India. Promoted to acting

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

on 4 August 1946, he became

-in-Chief of Eastern Command in India and then, between 1 January 1948 and 15 January 1949, he served as the Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army. During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, the Indian army under his command succeeded in pushing back the Pakistani military and tribesmen and captured most of the contested territory. On 28 November 1948, Bucher had advised Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to agree to a ceasefire because "overall military decision was no longer possible". Butcher in his interview with B.R. Nanda had said that Defence Minister Baldev Singh finally informed him on 31 December to go on with the ceasefire. Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (KBE) in the 1948 King's Birthday Honours, he retired on 9 October 1949 with the honorary rank of general and was promoted to be major-general on the General List, Regular Army Reserve of Officers, British Army, on 26 September 1950, retaining the honorary rank of general.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucher, Roy 1895 births 1980 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Military Cross Cameronians officers British Army personnel of World War I Indian Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army generals of World War II Chiefs of Army Staff (India) British Indian Army generals Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War Military personnel from Edinburgh