Major-General Sir Reginald Laurence Scoones KBE, CB, DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 (18 October 1900 – October 1991) was a British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 officer who served during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and its aftermath. His older brother was Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Scoones

Geoffrey Scoones

General Sir Geoffrey Allen Percival Scoones KCB, KBE, CSI, DSO, MC was a general in the British Indian Army during the Second World War. His younger brother was Reginald "Cully" Scoones.-Military career:...

.

Early years

Reginald Scoones was educated at Wellington

Wellington School, Somerset

Wellington School is a British co-educational independent school in Wellington, Somerset, England catering for both day pupils and boarders. There are currently 750 pupils on roll including 200 students in the sixth form. The Headmaster is Martin Reader....

 and Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

, and initially joined the Royal Fusiliers  before joining the Royal Tank Regiment

Royal Tank Regiment

The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...

 in 1923. In 1928, he was seconded to the Sudan Defence Force

Sudan Defence Force

The Sudan Defence Force was a Sudanese military unit formed in 1925, as its name indicates, to maintain the borders of the Sudan under the British administration...

 and commanded the machine-gun battery. In 1935, back in the UK, he was the adjutant of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment

1st Royal Tank Regiment

The 1st Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was originally formed as 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps in 1934....

 and by early 1939 had completed a four-month spell as Staff Captain on the staff of the Mobile Division in Egypt.

World War II

At the outbreak of the war, Scoones was working as a brigade major in Cairo before moving to the staff of the Western Desert Force

Western Desert Force

The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth army formation stationed in Egypt.On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The unit consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry...

 as GSO2 in 1940. In 1941 he received the OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 and after a short spell as second in command of 6th Royal Tank Regiment, was appointed commander of 42nd Royal Tank Regiment, part of 7th Armoured Division fighting in the Western Desert

Western Desert Campaign

The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...

. After a spell first as a GSO1 and then as a deputy director of military training at the War Office

War Office

The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...

 in London he was sent to India and assigned to command 254th Indian Tank Brigade

254th Indian Tank Brigade

The 254th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II, it was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign...

 on 17 November 1943. The brigade, consisting of M3 Lee tanks

M3 Lee

The Medium Tank M3 was an American tank used during World War II. In Britain the tank was called "General Lee", named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and the modified version built with a new turret was called the "General Grant", named after U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant.Design commenced...

 and Stuart tanks, was soon in action at the Battle of Imphal

Battle of Imphal

The Battle of Imphal took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in North-East India from March until July 1944. Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses...

, serving under Sir William Slim and Scoones's brother, Geoffrey Scoones who was commanding IV Corps. He was awarded the DSO in 1945 for his "...gallant and distinguished services in Burma..." and was also mentioned in despatches. In July 1945 his substantive rank was raised to colonel.

Post war

After the war, Scoones became Deputy Director of Military Training at the War Office. In 1947 he returned to Sudan as second in command of the Sudan Defence Force. In November 1949 his temporary brigadier's rank was made permanent and he assumed command of the Sudan Defence Force in 1950 in the temporary rank of major-general, in which capacity he also served on the executive council of Sudan. He was appointed CB in 1951 and his major-general's rank made substantive in that same year. He was to be the last British commander in the Sudan and in November 1954 he handed command over to Lieutenant-General Ahmed Mohamed and was knighted for his services in the 1955 New Year's Honours List. He retired from the army in 1955 and in 1957 became the director of the National Trade Defence Association

British Beer and Pub Association

The British Beer and Pub Association is the drinks and hospitality industry's largest and most influential trade association representing 98% of UK brewing and the ownership of over half of the nation's 54,000 pubs.-History:...

, a trade organization representing publicans, which position he held until 1969. Scoones died aged 90 in October 1991.

Sources