Francis Tuker
| Surname | Tuker |
| Given Name | Francis |
| Born | 4 Jul 1894 |
| Died | 7 Oct 1967 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Category | Military-Ground |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseFrancis Ivan Simms Tuker was born was born in 1894. He was educated at Brighton College, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom before joining the Royal Sussex Regiment of the British Army in 1914. During WW1, he was transferred to 2nd Gurkha Rifles regiment of the British Indian Army, rising to the rank of captain by 1918. Between 1920 and 1921, he served in northwestern Persia. In 1932, he was promoted to the rank of major. In 1937, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel to command 1st Battalion of 2nd Gurkha Rifles. For his participation in Waziristan in British India (now in Pakistan), he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1937. In Oct 1939, Tuker was promoted to the rank of colonel. In 1940, he was placed in charge of military training in India. In 1941, as an acting major general, he was made the commanding officer of Indian 34th Infantry Division. Two months later, in Dec 1941, he was transferred to Indian 4th Infantry Division as the commanding officer. With the 4th Infantry Division, he fought in the Western Desert region of Egypt and in Italy. In 1942, he was given the rank of temporary major general. In May 1943, he was promoted to the rank of major general. In Aug 1943, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. His division was ordered to attack the monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy, for that it was suspected to be occupied by German troops. Having picked up a book, in Naples, Italy, on the monastery's construction centuries prior, he recommended the monastery's destruction by bombers for that it could serve as a formidable fortress, regardless of whether it was currently occupied by the Germans or not. General Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the Allied Armies in Italy, ultimately agreed with Tuker and others, and the monastery was subsequently bombed; German troops would move in to occupy the ruins, which, despite the destruction, proved to be formidable as predicted. In Feb 1944, due to ill health, he was relieved of command of Indian 4th Infantry Division. In Sep 1944, he partially returned to service as the Frontier Commission in India. In Jan 1945, having fully returned to service, he was made the head of the Ceylon Army Command. In Jul 1945, he was promoted to the war-time rank of lieutenant general and was given temporary command of British IV Corps in Burma. After the war, Tuker reverted to his permanent rank of major general. After a brief time of leave, he was made the commander of Lucknow District in British India (now in Pakistan) in late 1945. During the 1946 New Years Honours, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. Later in Jan 1946, he was made the head of Eastern Command, India at the rank of acting lieutenant general. In Nov 1946, he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant general. He retired from military service in 1948 and passed away in 1967.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Aug 2017
Francis Tuker Timeline
| 4 Jul 1894 | Francis Tuker was born. |
| 10 Oct 1914 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. |
| 14 Mar 1916 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of acting captain. |
| 12 Apr 1916 | Francis Tuker stepped down from the rank of acting captain. |
| 17 Aug 1917 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant; this was back dated to 1 Sep 1915. |
| 14 Jan 1918 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of captain. |
| 14 Jan 1932 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of major. |
| 1 Jul 1933 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. |
| 1 Feb 1937 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. |
| 21 Dec 1937 | Francis Tuker was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. |
| 27 Oct 1939 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of colonel. |
| 1 Oct 1941 | Francis Tuker was made the commanding officer of Indian 34th Infantry Division. |
| 30 Dec 1941 | Francis Tuker was made the commanding officer of Indian 4th Division. |
| 1 Oct 1942 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the temporary rank of major general. |
| 15 Dec 1942 | Francis Tuker was mentioned in dispatches. |
| 31 May 1943 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of major general. |
| 24 Jun 1943 | Francis Tuker was mentioned in dispatches. |
| 5 Aug 1943 | Francis Tuker was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. |
| 4 Feb 1944 | Francis Tuker was relieved of command of Indian 4th Infantry Division due to ill health. |
| 4 Feb 1944 | Major-General Francis Tuker, commanding 4th Indian Division, suffering a bad attack of a tropical illness that had recurrently bothered him for years, was obliged to hand over command to Brigadier Harry Dimoline. |
| 14 Jul 1945 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the war-time rank of lieutenant general and was given temporary command of British IV Corps in Burma. |
| 1 Jan 1946 | Francis Tuker was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. |
| 21 Jan 1946 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of acting lieutenant commander and was given command of Eastern Command, India. |
| 15 Nov 1946 | Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. |
| 25 Apr 1948 | Francis Tuker retired from military service. |
| 7 Oct 1967 | Francis Tuker passed away. |
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Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal
2 Mar 2018 01:10:28 PM
In Rome '44 by Raleigh Trevelyan it is stated that Tuker was firmly opposed to the bombing of and attack on Cassino. He is quoted as stating that he and General Juin were in agreement that Monte Cassino should be by-passed in a flanking movement well to the north. He insisted that if his advice were to be ignored and the Monastery assaulted then it should be bombed using blockbuster bombs (to which he was opposed but which he saw as the only feasible means of complete destruction). These were not used. He was taken seriously ill before the final planning and was unable to influence the subsequent course of events.