Geoffrey Bourne, Baron Bourne

For other people named Geoffrey Bourne, see Geoffrey Bourne (disambiguation).

The Lord Bourne
Geoffrey Bourne 1948
Born	5 October 1902
Died	26 June 1982 (aged 79)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1923 - 1960
Rank	General
Commands held	152 Field Artillery Regiment 5th Indian Infantry Division British Forces Berlin 16th Airborne Division Eastern Command Malaya Command Middle East Land Forces
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

General Geoffrey Kemp Bourne, Baron Bourne GCB KBE CMG (5 October 1902 – 26 June 1982) was a British soldier.

Military career

Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1923, Bourne served in Hong Kong from 1930 to 1932, in Gibraltar from 1933 and 1934, in the Staff College, Camberley in 1935 and 1936, and in Colchester in 1937. In 1938 and 1939, he was General Staff Officer of the War Office.

During the Second World War, he was a member of the Joint Planning Staff between 1939 and 1941, and a member of the Joint Staff Mission in Washington, D.C. in 1942. In 1944, he was Commander of the 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, fighting in Italy, and member of the General Staff Airborne Corps fighting in Belgium.

Between 1945 and 1946, he commanded the 5th Indian Division, in Java and worked at the Imperial Defence College in 1947. He was Head of the British Mission to Burma in 1948 and Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from 1949 to 1951. Between 1951 and 1953 he commanded 16th Airborne Division, was General Officer Commander in Chief Eastern Command between 1953 and 1954, and General Officer Commanding Malaya between 1954 and 1956. Bourne was Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces in 1957 and Commandant of the Imperial Defence College between 1958 and 1959. He retired in 1960.

He was also Aide-de-Camp General to The Queen in 1959 and 1960, Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1954 to 1967 and Honorary Colonel, 10 Battalion The Parachute Regiment, Territorial Army from 1960 to 1965.

Bourne was invested as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. On 22 August 1964, he was created a life peer with the title Baron Bourne, of Atherstone in the County of Warwickshire.

References

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Otway Herbert	Commandant, British Sector in Berlin 1949–1951	Succeeded by Sir Charles Coleman
Preceded by Gerald Lathbury	General Officer Commanding 16th Airborne Division 1951–1953	Succeeded by Francis Rome
Preceded by Sir George Erskine	GOC-in-C Eastern Command 1953–1954	Succeeded by Sir Francis Festing
Preceded by Sir Hugh Stockwell	GOC Malaya 1954–1956	Succeeded by Sir Roger Bower
Preceded by Sir Charles Keightley	C-in-C Middle East Land Forces 1957–1958	Succeeded by Sir Roger Bower
Preceded by Sir Guy Russell	Commandant of the Imperial Defence College 1958–1960	Succeeded by Sir Robert Scott