Chief of the General Staff (India)

The Chief of the General Staff, India was a senior military commander in British India from 1906 to 1947.

Chief of the General Staff, India
First in office Lieutenant general Sir Beauchamp Duff March 1906—October 1909
British Indian Army
Status	Chief of the General Staff
Reports to	Commander-in-Chief, India
Seat	GHQ India
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	March 1906
First holder	Lieutenant general Sir Beauchamp Duff
Final holder	Lieutenant general Sir Arthur Smith
Abolished	August 1947
Succession	Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army

History

The Chief of the General Staff, India assisted the Commander-in-Chief, India in commanding the British Indian Army. The post was largely honorary as all power resided in the hands of Commander-in-Chief, India.[1] The post was replaced by that of Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army in 1947 and then by that of Chief of the Army Staff in 1955.[2]

Chiefs of the General Staff

Holders of the post have been:[3]

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Unit of Commission	Ref
1	Lieutenant-General Sir Beauchamp Duff	Mar 1906	Oct 1909	Royal Artillery	[3]
2	Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig	Oct 1909	Feb 1912	7th Queen's Own Hussars	[3]
3	Lieutenant-General Sir Percy Lake	Feb 1912	Jan 1916	59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot	[3]
4	Lieutenant-General Sir George Kirkpatrick	Jan 1916	Jan 1920	Royal Engineers	[3]
5	General Sir Claud Jacob	Jan 1920	Nov 1924	Worcestershire Regiment	[3]
6	General Sir Andrew Skeen	Nov 1924	Oct 1928	King's Own Scottish Borderers	[3]
7	General Sir Philip Chetwode	Oct 1928	Jul 1930	Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry	[3]
8	Lieutenant-General Sir Cyril Deverell	Jul 1930	Mar 1931	Prince of Wales's West Yorkshire Regiment	[3]
9	General Sir Kenneth Wigram	Mar 1931	May 1934	2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)	[3]
10	General Sir William Bartholomew	May 1934	Oct 1937	Royal Artillery	[3]
11	General Sir Ivo Vesey	Oct 1937	Jun 1939	Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)	[3]
12	General Sir Eric de Burgh	Jun 1939	May 1941	Royal Dublin Fusiliers	[3]
13	Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Hutton	May 1941	Dec 1941	Royal Artillery	[3]
14	Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Morris	Dec 1941	Apr 1944	Royal Engineers	[3]
15	Lieutenant-General Sir John Swayne	Apr 1944	Jan 1946	Somerset Light Infantry	[3]
16	Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Smith	Jan 1946	Aug 1947	Coldstream Guards	[3]

See also

• Commander-in-Chief of India
• Chief of the Army Staff

References

1. The Indian Army in 1914 Archived September 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
3. Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine