Clifford Thomason Beckett

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Clifford Thomason Beckett
Companion in The Most Honourable Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross
Mentioned in dispatches

CBE, MC (9 November 1891 – 8 July 1972) was an officer of the British Army who had a distinguished military career which spanned almost thirty-five years, including service in the two world wars.[2]

Early life

Clifford Beckett was the older son of Brigadier-General William Thomas Clifford Beckett and Bessie Drummond Thomason, daughter of Major-General Charles Simeon Thomason of the Bengal Royal Engineers. His younger brother was Walter Napier Thomason Beckett, who later joined the Royal Navy (RN).[1]

Before his military career, Beckett's father William had been a civil engineer of the

Bengal – Nagpur Railway, completing the connection between the cities of Calcutta and Madras. In 1901, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers for a paper he presented on his completed project.[3] The family returned to Great Britain for the boys education, and lived near Grantown-on-Spey in Scotland
.

Military career

Clifford Beckett was educated at Tonbridge School in his native Kent and then attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Field Artillery of the British Army on 20 July 1911.[4][1][5]

During World War I Beckett served in various campaigns including Gallipoli, France, Salonika and finally was wounded at Palestine where he received the Military Cross (MC) for his actions.[6] He finished the war with the rank of captain.[1] He also served in Iraq in 1919-20 during the Arab rebellion.[7]

On 4 December 1915, Clifford Beckett married Winifred Mary Ackerley Chichester, daughter of the late C. A. W. Chichester and bore one son and two daughters. During the period between the wars Beckett was engaged in various military duties including travel in Afghanistan and Australia. In 1929, he was Staff Captain at the War Office overseeing the Special Award War Office Committee on Awards to Inventors. Beckett was later employed on strategic reconnaissances in Western Europe and also served in Lahore where he was involved in the suppression of riots and the organization of the Military Jubilee Tattoo.[1]

At King

George VI
's coronation on 12 May 1937, Beckett had the honour of serving as a Gold Staff Officer.

By the start of

Mentioned in Despatches
for operations in the field.

Beckett then went on to be Commander of the Royal Artillery of the 15th Scottish Division from June 1940 until May 1941 when he was appointed Commander of the Royal Artillery at Malta.

Daniel Marcus William Beak, VC, DSO, MC & Bar (27 July 1891 – 3 May 1967).[8] In recognition of his actions at Malta Beckett was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 18 February 1943.[1]

By 1943 Beckett was in command of the 4th and 5th Anti-Aircraft Groups of the Royal Artillery. In April 1945 Clifford Beckett was made a

Major General.[4][2]

Later life

Beckett held many positions in civilian life following his retirement from the Military. He was Honorary Fellow and President Emeritus of the

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) of Somerset, (1949–1958). Beckett also judged at the Rhône and Delhi Horse Shows.[1]

Beckett had a keen interest in history and published The Yeomanry of Devon (with

Huguenot Society of London
. Beckett's wife Winifred died in 1960 and Clifford Beckett died in 1972, aged 80.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Biography of Major General Clifford Thomason Beckett (1891−1972), Great Britain". generals.dk.
  3. ^ The Bridges over the Orissa Rivers on the East Coast Extension of the Bengal – Nagpur Railway. (W.T.C. Beckett, M. Inst. C.E., Paper No. 3250, 1901)
  4. ^ a b Smart 2005, p. 27.
  5. ^ "No. 28524". The London Gazette. 22 August 1911. p. 6226.
  6. ^ "No. 30624". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 1918. p. 4411.
  7. ^ a b January 1946 Half Yearly Supplement
  8. ^ Daniel Marcus William Beak at www.generals.dk

Bibliography

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

External links
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