Charles Broad (British Army officer)

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Sir Charles Broad
Broad in 1918, by James Penniston Barraclough
Born29 December 1882
Died23 March 1976 (aged 93)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1901 - 1942
RankLieutenant-General
Service number3246
UnitSecond Boer War
First World War
Second World War
Commands held1st Brigade of the Royal Tank Corps
Aldershot Command
Eastern Army in India
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Noel Frank Broad KCB DSO (29 December 1882[1] – 23 March 1976) was a British Army General during the Second World War.

Military career[edit]

The son of Major C. H. Broad, Northumberland Fusiliers, Broad was educated at Wellington College and Pembroke College, Cambridge University.[2] He served in South Africa 1901-02 as an officer of the 3rd (Militia) battalion York & Lancaster regiment.[3]

Broad was commissioned in 1904[4] into the Cambridge University Volunteers, then into the Royal Field Artillery in May 1905[1] and went to the Staff College, Camberley in 1914.[5]

He also served in the First World War in France and Belgium, mostly on the staff.[5] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in June 1917, "for distinguished service in the field."[6]

He transferred to the Royal Tank Corps in 1923[1] and became Commander of the 1st Brigade of the Royal Tank Corps in 1931 before being appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Aldershot Command in 1939.[5] He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for the Eastern Army in India in 1940: in that capacity he welcomed the 7th Armoured Brigade back from Burma:[7] he retired in 1942.[5]

He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Regiment from 1939 to 1949.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Half Yearly Army List January 1933
  2. ^ Kelly's Handbook 1944
  3. ^ AngloBoerwar.com - Shipping Lists May 1902
  4. ^ "No. 27659". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 1904. p. 1795.
  5. ^ a b c d e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  6. ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1917. p. 5468.
  7. ^ "The Desert Rats: Crossing the Chindwin and back to India". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

External links[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by GOC-in-C Aldershot Command
1939−1940
Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC-in-C, Eastern Army, India
1940−1942
Succeeded by