John Crocker

Sir John Crocker
Sir John Crocker
Nickname(s)	"Honest John"
Born	4 January 1896; Catford, Lewisham, London, England
Died	9 March 1963 (aged 67); London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1915–1919; 1920–1953
Rank	General
Service number	10435
Unit	Artists Rifles; Machine Gun Corps; Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own); Royal Tank Corps
Commands held	Adjutant-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/wars	First World War; Second World War; Palestine Emergency
Awards	Knight 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 work	Vice-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.