British politician
Brigadier-General Sir George Kynaston Cockerill, CB (13 August 1867 – 19 April 1957)[1] was a British Army officer and a Conservative Party politician.
Career
Cockerill was the son of the Surgeon-General Robert William Cockerill, and his wife Clara Sandys, daughter of Major-General Charles Pooley.[2]
He joined the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in February 1888, was promoted to a lieutenant on 26 June 1889, and served in the Hazara Expedition in 1891.[2] From 1892 to 1895 he explored the eastern Hindu Kush, for which he won the MacGregor Memorial medal and was a gold medallist of the Royal United Services Institute in India. He served with the Chitral Relief Force in 1895, on the North-West Frontier of India from 1897 to 1898, and was promoted to captain (supernumerary) on 11 February 1899. He was a staff officer in the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902, serving as deputy assistant adjutant general for communications from February 1900.[2] For his war service, he was mentioned in despatches (dated 8 April 1902)[3] and received brevet promotion to major in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902.[4] Following the end of the war, he received a regular commission as a captain in the 4th battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment in August 1902,[5] and left Cape Town on the SS Norman two months later to join his battalion at Dublin.[6] In 1907 he became a major in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and retired in 1910.[2] In retirement he served in the Special Reserve and in April 1914 was promoted to lieutenant-colonel to command the 7th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.[7]
At the December 1910 general election Cockerill stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Thornbury division of Gloucestershire.[8] He was British technical delegate at the Hague Conference in 1907.[2] At the outbreak of the First World War he mobilised the 7th Royal Fusiliers[9] and then served in the War Office, first as Sub-Director of Military Operations, then as Deputy Director of Military Intelligence and Director of Special Intelligence with the rank of brigadier-general.[2] He received many honours for his wartime work, including being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1916.[2]
At the 1918 general election Cockerill was elected unopposed[10] as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Reigate division of Surrey, having stood as a Coalition Conservative. He was returned unopposed in 1922 and in 1923, and re-elected with large majorities in 1924 and 1929.[10] He retired from the House of Commons at the 1931 general election,[10] having been knighted in the King's Birthday Honours in 1926.[11]
Animal welfare
Cockerill was honorary director of the International League for the Protection of Horses in 1939.[12][13]
Publications
- Sir George Cockerill. "Pioneer Exploration in Hunza and Chitral". The Himalayan Journal. Vol. 11. 1939. 14–41.
References
External links
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