George Erskine


Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine was a senior British Army officer who is most notable for having commanded the 7th Armoured Division from 1943 to 1944 during World War II, and leading major counter-insurgency operations during the Mau Mau Uprising, including the brutal interrogation and torture of Kenyan civilians and other war crimes, of which he had direct knowledge.

Early life and First World War

Erskine was the son of Major-General George Elphinstone Erskine by his second wife Eva Constance Sarah, daughter of Canon Ebenezer Wood Edwards. He was a descendant of the noted 18th-century jurist John Erskine of Carnock.
Erskine was educated at Charterhouse School and later entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1918. He served during World War I in France and Belgium and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1929 to 1930. During the 1930s he served in India but returned to Britain in 1937 to become Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at Eastern Command.

Second World War

In 1939 he became a General Staff Officer for 1st London Division of the Territorial Army. In 1941 he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, KRRC, who were then part of the 69th Infantry Brigade and sent to North Africa, where he earned his Distinguished Service Order in 1942. He served as Brigadier General Staff of XIII Corps, commanded by William Gott, a fellow officer of the KRRC, then Brian Horrocks and Miles Dempsey in 1942. He was then promoted to acting major-general on 24 January 1943 and was appointed General Officer Commanding 7th Armoured Division. He served with the division in North Africa, Italy and Normandy between 1943 and 1944.
During the Battle of Normandy in June and July 1944 the British Second Army commander, Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey, was unimpressed with the performance of the 7th Armoured Division and the VIII Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor, considered his direction of the division during Operation Goodwood excessively cautious. Shortly afterwards, in the difficult bocage country during Operation Bluecoat, the 7th Armoured Division failed to gain its objectives and Erskine was sacked and replaced by Gerald Lloyd-Verney. In spite of his indifferent performance as a field commander Erskine had qualities which suited him to other roles and this episode proved only a temporary setback to his career. He became Head of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Mission to Belgium in 1944 and then GOC 43rd Infantry Division in 1945.

Later career

After the war Erskine was Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong in 1946, Director General of the Territorial Army in 1948 to 1949 and GOC British Troops in Egypt in 1949. Returning to the United Kingdom, he became GOC-in-Chief, Eastern Command in 1952.

Mau Mau Uprising

In 1953 he was appointed GOC-in-Chief, East Africa Command where he was responsible for managing the response to the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and led Operation Anvil in Nairobi in April 1954. He was GOC-in-Chief, Southern Command from 1955 to 1958 when he retired. He was an Aide-de-Camp General to the Queen from 1955 to 1965.
In a letter to the British government, Erskine described his direct knowledge of his troops' brutal treatment of Kenyan civilians, including the torture and murder: "There is no doubt that in the early days... there was a great deal of indiscriminate shooting by army and police. I am quite certain prisoners were beaten to extract information. It is a short step from beating to torture and I'm now sure... that torture was a feature of many police posts." According to historian Fabian Klose, Erskine's forces were responsible for multiple "war crimes" in Kenya.
Erskine was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1950, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1952 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1955. From 1958 to 1963 he was Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Jersey.

Family

Erskine married Ruby de la Rue, daughter of Sir Evelyn de la Rue, 2nd Baronet, in 1930. They had two sons and one daughter.