Kenneth Cooper (British Army officer)

Major-General Kenneth Christie Cooper CB, DSO, OBE (18 October 1905 – 4 September 1981) was a senior British Army officer who commanded 7th Armoured Division.[1]

Kenneth Cooper
Birth nameKenneth Christie Cooper
Born18 October 1905
Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales
Died4 September 1981 (aged 75)
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1924–1959
RankMajor-General
UnitRoyal Corps of Signals
Commands held1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
7th Armoured Brigade
7th Armoured Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Military career

Educated at Berkhamsted School, Cooper was commissioned into the 53rd (Welsh) Divisional Signals Regiment in 1924[2] and then transferred to the Royal Tank Corps in 1927.[3] He served in World War II as Commanding Officer of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry from October 1941, as a General Staff Officer with IX Corps in North Africa from 1942 and as a Brigadier on the General Staff at Allied Force Headquarters from 1943.[4] His last war-time role was as Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in Italy from 1945.[4] He was appointed Brigadier, Royal Armoured Corps at Northern Command in 1947, Chief of Staff at West Africa Command in 1948 and Assistant commandant of the Staff College, Camberley in 1952.[4] He went on to be General Officer Commanding 7th Armoured Division in 1953 and Chief of Staff Allied Forces Northern Europe in 1956 before retiring in 1959.[4]

He lived at West End House in Donhead St Andrew in Wiltshire.[5]

Family

He married Barbara Mary Harding‑Newman;[6] they had one son, Major General Sir Simon Cooper.[5]

References
  1. "Obituary: Major-General K. C. Cooper". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 18 September 1981. p. 16.
  2. "No. 32901". The London Gazette. 25 January 1924. p. 775.
  3. "No. 33308". The London Gazette. 2 September 1927. p. 5676.
  4. Generals.dk
  5. The Peerage.com
  6. Gooch of London Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
Military offices
Preceded by
Charles Jones		 GOC 7th Armoured Division
1953–1956		 Succeeded by
John Hackett
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