Claude Auchinleck

Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), nicknamed The Auk, was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers he commanded. The Auchinlecks were an Ulster-Scots family from County Fermanagh, where they had settled in the 17th century.... more

Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), nicknamed The Auk, was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers he commanded. The Auchinlecks were an Ulster-Scots family from County Fermanagh, where they had settled in the 17th century. Claude Auchinleck was born in Aldershot, son of Colonel John and Mary Auchinleck, while his father's regiment was stationed there. His father died in 1892, when he was eight years old, and Auchinleck grew up in impoverished circumstances, but he was able, through hard work and scholarships, to graduate from Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Auchinleck applied to join the Indian Army and, having achieved in 1903 a qualifying position in the entrance examination, in 1904 he joined the 62nd Punjabis. He was able to... less