Basil Eugster

General Sir Basil Oscar Eugster, KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, MC & Bar (15 August 1914 – 5 April 1984) was a senior British Army officer who served as Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces from 1972 to 1974.

Sir Basil Oscar Eugster
Born(1914-08-15)15 August 1914
Died5 April 1984(1984-04-05) (aged 69)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1935–74
RankGeneral
Commands heldUK Land Forces
Southern Command
British Forces in Hong Kong
London District
4th Division
3rd Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion Irish Guards
3rd Battalion Irish Guards
Battles/warsArab revolt in Palestine
Second World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross & Bar
Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star (Austria)

Army career

A British soldier of Swiss descent,[1] Basil Eugster attended Beaumont College. In 1935 he joined the Irish Guards.[2] He served with his regiment through the Second World War and fought in the Narvik Campaign in Norway in 1940.[2] He was Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion Irish Guards in 1945, and again in 1947, and of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards from 1951 to 1954.[2]

Eugster served as Commander of 3rd Infantry Brigade in Cyprus from 1959 to 1962 and was then General Officer Commanding 4th Division in Germany from 1963 to 1965.[2] He went on to become Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District from 1965 to 1968 and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong from 1968 to 1970.[2] He was then General Officer Commanding Southern Command from 1971 to 1972.[2] He served as the Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces from 1972 to 1974 when he retired.[2] In 1966, Eugster was awarded the Austrian Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star.[3]

Later career

He was Colonel of the Regiment of the Irish Guards until his death in 1984, aged 69.[4]

References

  1. Beat de Fischer, 2000 Ans De Presence Suisse En Angleterre: L'etonnante epopee Des Suisses D'Outre-Manche, De L'epoque Romaine a La Communaute Europeenne
  2. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. "Reply to a parliamentary question" (pdf) (in German). p. 26. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  4. Irish Guards: History
Military offices
Preceded by
Jean Allard
General Officer Commanding the 4th Division
1963–1965
Succeeded by
Michael Forrester
Preceded by
Sir John Nelson
GOC London District
1965–1968
Succeeded by
Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard
Preceded by
Sir John Worsley
Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong
1968–1970
Succeeded by
Sir Richard Ward
Preceded by
Sir Michael Carver
GOC-in-C Southern Command
1971–1972
Succeeded by
Post disbanded
Preceded by
New post
Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces
1972–1974
Succeeded by
Sir Roland Gibbs
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