Herbert Cox

General Sir Herbert Vaughan Cox GCB KCMG CSI (12 July 1860–8 October 1923) was a British Indian Army officer.

Cox was born in Watford, the son of the Rector of Upper Chelsea. He was educated at Charterhouse and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the 25th Foot (later the King's Own Scottish Borderers) in 1880. [LondonGazette |issue=24800 |date=13 January 1880 |startpage=145] Posted to India, he served in the closing stages of the Second Afghan War and was promoted Lieutenant. He transferred to the Madras Staff Corps in 1882 [LondonGazette |issue=25320 |date=22 February 1884 |startpage=896] and served in the Third Burmese War of 1885–1886 with the 21st Madras Infantry. [LondonGazette |issue=25599 |date=22 June 1886 |startpage=2974]

He then briefly served as adjutant of the South India Railway Volunteer Corps before being appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General for Musketry in Burma. Soon afterwards he was appointed DAAG of Imperial Service Troops. He was promoted Captain in 1891. [LondonGazette |issue=26144 |date=17 March 1891 |startpage=1483] In 1894 he became an inspector of the contingents supplied by the Indian Princely States. He served on the Mohmand and Tirah Expeditions and in the Boxer Rebellion, being promoted Major in 1900. [LondonGazette |issue=27173 |date=13 March 1900 |startpage=1714] Returning to India in 1902, he spent five years in command of his regiment, the 69th Punjabis, as a Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel. [LondonGazette |issue=27536 |date=20 March 1903 |startpage=1857] He was promoted substantive Lieutenant-Colonel in 1904 [LondonGazette |issue=27716 |date=23 September 1904 |startpage=6138] and Brevet Colonel in 1907. [LondonGazette |issue=28081 |date=19 November 1907 |startpage=7771] He was promoted substantive Colonel [LondonGazette |issue=28152 |date=26 June 1908 |startpage=4652] and became Assistant Quartermaster-General for Mobilisation later in 1907. [LondonGazette |issue=28144 |date=9 June 1908 |startpage=4245] Nine months later he was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General for India, [LondonGazette |issue=28174 |date=4 September 1908 |startpage=6450] in which post he served for three years. In 1911 he was appointed military member of the Coronation Durbar Committee with the temporary rank of Brigadier-General, [LondonGazette |issue=28539 |date=6 October 1911 |startpage=7285] for which he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) later that year. [LondonGazette |issue=28559 |date=8 December 1911 |startpage=9359]

His next post was as commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade at Rawalpindi. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1912 Birthday Honours. [LondonGazette |issue=28617 |date=11 June 1912 |startpage=4298 |supp=yes] He then took command of the 2nd (Nowshera) Infantry Brigade. When the First World War broke out he was given command of the Gurkha Brigade in Egypt, Arabia and Gallipoli, where he was wounded. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in October 1915 for distinguished service in the field. [LondonGazette |issue=29344 |date=29 October 1915 |startpage=10727 |supp=yes] In 1916 he was appointed Colonel of his old regiment, the 69th Punjabis. [LondonGazette |issue=29651 |date=4 July 1916 |startpage=6613] He then commanded the 4th Australian Division in Egypt and in France from 1916 to 1917, when he became Secretary of the Military Department of the India Office, where he remained until his retirement in January 1921. [LondonGazette |issue=32220 |date=8 February 1921 |startpage=1066] He was promoted Lieutenant-General in January 1917 for distinguished service in the field. [LondonGazette |issue=29987 |date=16 March 1917 |startpage=2701 |supp=yes] In 1919 he was appointed to the Esher Committee to look into Indian Army administration and organisation. He was promoted General in 1920 [LondonGazette |issue=31996 |date=27 July 1920 |startpage=7928 |supp=yes] and appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1921 Birthday Honours following his retirement. [LondonGazette |issue=32346 |date=4 June 1921 |startpage=4532 |endpage= |supp=yes]

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, "The Times", 10 October 1923