John Crocker

Sir John Crocker
Nickname(s)"Honest John"
Born(1896-01-04)4 January 1896
Catford, Lewisham, London, England
Died9 March 1963(1963-03-09) (aged 67)
London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1915–1919
1920–1953
RankGeneral
Service number10435
UnitArtists Rifles
Machine Gun Corps
Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own)
Royal Tank Corps
CommandsAdjutant-General to the Forces (1950–53)
Middle East Land Forces (1947–50)
Southern Command (1945–47)
I Corps (1943–45)
IX Corps (1942–43)
XI Corps (1942)
6th Armoured Division (1940–41)
3rd Armoured Brigade (1940)
Battles / warsFirst World War
Second World War
Palestine Emergency
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)
Other workVice-Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex

General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War. During the Second World War he served as a distinguished brigade, division and corps commander, where his most notable role was as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of I Corps during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, leading the corps throughout the subsequent campaign in Western Europe until Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day) just over eleven months later.

After the war was over Crocker became Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Middle East Land Forces and Adjutant-General to the Forces, the second most senior officer on the Army Council. An outstanding soldier, Crocker was highly regarded by both his superiors, most notably Field Marshal The Viscount Alanbrooke, and his subordinates, including the future Field Marshal Lord Carver, but he remains relatively unknown.