Roy Bucher

General
Sir Roy Bucher
KBE CB MC
Born31 August 1895
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died5 January 1980 (aged 84)
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
British India
India
Branch
 British Army
 British Indian Army
 Indian Army
Service years
1914–1949
Rank
General
Service number16708
CommandsEastern Command
12th Cavalry
Indian Cavalry Training Centre
Indian Army
Conflicts
First World War
Third Anglo-Afghan War
Second World War
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Military Cross

General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher KBE CB MC (31 August 1895 – 5 January 1980) was a senior officer of the British Imperial Indian Army who served as the second Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from January 1948 to January 1949. He succeeded Sir Rob Lockhart and was the last British officer to hold the position, after which command passed to Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa.

Bucher’s tenure took place during the immediate aftermath of the Partition of India, creating the Dominions of Pakistan and India. This period was marked by the division of the armed forces between the two states and the outbreak of the Indo–Pakistani war of 1947–1948. As Commander-in-Chief, he oversaw the reorganization of the Indian Army and advising the civilian leadership on military operations during the conflict.

Following the transition of the Dominion of India into the Republic of India in 1950, he had already concluded his tenure as Commander-in-Chief and departed from the Indian Republic, marking the end of his association with the country’s military establishment. He returned to the United Kingdom, where he lived a largely private life. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he did not assume prominent public or political roles after retirement.

Military career

Educated at the Edinburgh Academy, and was commissioned from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 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 on 15 August 1918.

After the War he served in Afghanistan and Waziristan during the Third Anglo-Afghan War, 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 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 District in India. He was promoted to major 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, initially as Commandant 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 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 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 (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 Bengal and Assam Area in India. Promoted to acting lieutenant-general on 4 August 1946, he became General Officer Commanding-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". Bucher 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

  1. ↑ "Gen Sir Roy BUCHER. KBE. CB. MC. DL".
  2. ↑ Generals – Biography
  3. 1 2 "Kashmir letters cast doubt on claims Nehru blundered by agreeing ceasefire". The Guardian. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Chief of the Army Staff". Indian Army. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bucher, Roy". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Edinburgh Academy - Senior School Prospectus - Some alumni". 14 February 2006. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006.
  7. ↑ London Gazette 14 August 1914
  8. ↑ "No. 29328". The London Gazette. 15 October 1915. p. 10169.
  9. ↑ "No. 29928". The London Gazette. 2 February 1917. p. 1177.
  10. ↑ "No. 30236". The London Gazette. 17 August 1917. p. 8459.
  11. ↑ "No. 30384". The London Gazette. 16 November 1917. p. 11854.
  12. ↑ "No. 31174". The London Gazette. 11 February 1919. p. 2164.
  13. ↑ "No. 31196". The London Gazette. 21 February 1919. p. 2623.
  14. ↑ "No. 32001". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 August 1920. p. 8053.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Half Yearly Army List January 1946 p.59
  16. ↑ "No. 33866". The London Gazette. 23 September 1932. p. 6025.
  17. ↑ "No. 34414". The London Gazette. 2 July 1937. p. 4251.
  18. ↑ "No. 34799". The London Gazette. 23 February 1940. p. 1104.
  19. ↑ July 1940 Indian Army List
  20. ↑ "No. 35594". The London Gazette. 12 June 1942. p. 2603.
  21. ↑ "No. 35945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 March 1943. p. 1301.
  22. ↑ "No. 36255". The London Gazette. 19 November 1943. p. 5090.
  23. ↑ "No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1945. p. 4.
  24. ↑ "No. 37082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 May 1945. p. 2559.
  25. ↑ "No. 37789". The London Gazette. 15 November 1946. p. 5626.
  26. ↑ Paul, Bikash C. (14 December 2019). "Cobrapost Exclusive: Nehru wanted to attack Pakistan in 1947 after it invaded Kashmir". Cobrapost.com.
  27. ↑ "No. 38311". The London Gazette. 10 June 1948. p. 3370.
  28. ↑ "No. 38762". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 November 1949. p. 5459.
  29. ↑ "No. 39024". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 September 1950. p. 4792.

Bibliography