George Cockerill (British Army officer)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e4/George_K._Cockerill.jpg/220px-George_K._Cockerill.jpg)
Brigadier-General Sir George Kynaston Cockerill, CB (13 August 1867 – 19 April 1957)[1] was a British Army officer and a Conservative Party politician.
Career
Cockerill was the son of the Surgeon-General Robert William Cockerill, and his wife Clara Sandys, daughter of Major-General Charles Pooley.[2]
He joined the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in February 1888, was promoted to a lieutenant on 26 June 1889, and served in the Hazara Expedition in 1891.[2] From 1892 to 1895 he explored the eastern Hindu Kush, for which he won the MacGregor Memorial medal and was a gold medallist of the Royal United Services Institute in India. He served with the Chitral Relief Force in 1895, on the North-West Frontier of India from 1897 to 1898, and was promoted to captain (supernumerary) on 11 February 1899. He was a staff officer in the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902, serving as deputy assistant adjutant general for communications from February 1900.[2] For his war service, he was mentioned in despatches (dated 8 April 1902[3]) and received the brevet promotion as major in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902.[4] Following the end of the war, he received a regular commission as a captain in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in August 1902.[5] In 1907 he became a major in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and retired from that post in 1910.[2]
At the December 1910 general election he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Thornbury division of Gloucestershire.[6] He was British technical delegate at the Hague Conference in 1907.[2] During World War I he served in the War Office, first as Sub-Director of Military Operations, then as Deputy Director of Military Intelligence and Director of Special Intelligence with the rank of Brigadier-General.[2] He received many honours for his wartime work, including being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (military division) in 1916.[2]
At the 1918 general election he was elected unopposed[7] as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Reigate division of Surrey, having stood as a Coalition Conservative. He was returned unopposed in 1922 and in 1923, and re-elected with large majorities in 1924 and 1929.[7] He retired from the House of Commons at the 1931 general election,[7] having been knighted in the King's Birthday Honours in 1926.[8]
Publications
- Sir George Cockerill. “Pioneer Exploration in Hunza and Chitral.” The Himalayan Journal. Vol. 11. 1939. 14-41.
References
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
- ^ a b c d e f g Hesilridge, Arthur G. M. (1922). Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1922. London: Dean & Son. p. 35.
- ^ "No. 27443". The London Gazette. 17 June 1902. pp. 3967–3974.
- ^ "No. 27448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 1902. pp. 4191–4194.
- ^ "No. 27460". The London Gazette. 1 August 1902. p. 4965.
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 287. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
- ^ a b c Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 479. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ "No. 33179". The London Gazette. 2 July 1926. p. 4402.
External links
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- 1867 births
- 1957 deaths
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1918–22
- UK MPs 1922–23
- UK MPs 1923–24
- UK MPs 1924–29
- UK MPs 1929–31
- Knights Bachelor
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Queen's Royal Regiment officers
- Royal Fusiliers officers
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- Explorers of Central Asia
- British Army generals of World War I
- Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers