Frederick McCracken

Sir Frederick William Nicholas McCracken KCB , DSO (born August 18, 1859 in Kent , † August 8, 1949 ) was an officer in the British Army , most recently a lieutenant-general .

Life

McCracken was born to Robert de Crez McCracken of Blackheath , Kent, and his wife Elizabeth, nee Geary. He was trained as an officer in Sandhurst and joined the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot in 1879 as a Second Lieutenant . Amalgamation made him join the Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) in 1880 . He served as a lieutenant in the Egyptian expedition of 1882 and became adjutant of the 1st battalion of his regiment the following year , achieving the rank of captain in 1884 . In 1885 he served in the Suakin expedition against Osman Digna and took part in the battles of Hashin and Tofrek, for which he was mentioned in dispatches . Here in August 1885 he received the brevet rank of major as well as two clips for the campaign medal. He then served on the Egyptian border until 1886 and took part in the Battle of Ginnis .

In 1887 McCracken married Ann Liston Glover, with whom he had two daughters and a son. From 1892 to 1897 he served in Barbados as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General before returning to his regiment as a major. He served with his regiment in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in the Cape Colony , in the Orange Free State and in the Transvaal, and in 1901 became commander of the 2nd Battalion. He was twice “mentioned in dispatches”, was awarded the DSO, the Queen's South Africa Medal with three clasps and the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps, and at the end of 1900 he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel .

From 1907 to 1911, McCracken served as Assistant Adjutant General with the rank of Colonel in British India . He then came to the Irish Command as Brigadier-General, General Staff , where he served until October 1912. He then took over the 7th Infantry Brigade in Southern Command , which he also led within the 3rd Division of the British Expeditionary Force at the beginning of the First World War . In August 1914 he took part in the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Le Cateau , among others . At the end of October 1914 he was promoted to major-general for his services and shortly thereafter appointed inspector of the infantry.

In March 1915, McCracken was given command of the 15th (Scottish) Division , which was one of the New Army's first divisions . He led this until June 1917 in the Battle of Loos in 1915, the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the Battle of Arras in 1917. On June 17, 1917, he was given command of the XIII Corps in the temporary rank of Lieutenant-General . On March 13, 1918, he was recalled and appointed temporary Commander-in-Chief of Scottish Command in May , which he remained until 1919. After the war, his rank of lieutenant-general was confirmed. He has received numerous national and international awards. In 1917 he was inducted into the Order of the Bath as Knight Commander .

McCracken retired in 1922. He died shortly before he was 90.

Web links

• Career data on angloboerwar.com
• The Quarterly Army List on archive.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Walter Norris Congreve	General Officer Commanding XIII Corps 1917–1918	Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle
Spencer Ewart	Commander in Chief of the Scottish Command 1918–1919	Francis Davies