Geoffrey Scoones

First World War and inter-war period

Scoones was commissioned a second lieutenant on the unattached list for the Indian Army on 20 January 1912. He was accepted into the Indian Army and appointed to 2nd Battalion 2nd (King Edward VII's Own) Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) with a promotion to lieutenant on 8 Mar 1913. He served in the First World War becoming aide-de-camp to the Commander of Meerut Division, then aide-de-camp to the commander 21st Division and finally aide-de-camp to the Army Corps Commander, 2nd Army Corps in France between 8 Sept 1915 and 10 July 1917. Promoted to captain on 20 January 1916, he became a brigade major in India on 27 October 1917. He was mentioned in despatches three times, and awarded the Distinguished Service Order as well as the Military Cross.

After the War Scoones saw service during the Afghanistan North West Frontier operations in 1919. After attending the Staff College, Quetta from 1922 to 1923, he served as a brigade major in India from 3 March 1924 to 30 November 1926 and then became a general staff officer. Brevetted to major on 7 January 1925, he transferred to 1st Battalion 2nd Gurkha Rifles on 22 January 1928 He was promoted to major on 20 January 1929 and brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1933. After attending the Imperial Defence College, from 14 February 1935 to 23 April 1938 he was Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Gurkha Rifles. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for earthquake work at Quetta in 1935.

Second World War

Scoones served in the Second World War initially as a general staff officer on the Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence. On 17 May 1940 he was appointed deputy director of military operations, India. The following year, he became director of military operations and intelligence, India, with the rank of major-general.

In 1942, he briefly commanded the Indian 19th Infantry Division before being promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed to command IV Corps part of William Slim's Fourteenth Army. This Corps defended Imphal in Manipur, on the frontier between India and Japanese-held Burma. It also had responsibility for a large rear area, and a very large tract of unmapped and trackless jungle-covered frontier. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in 1942.

Scoones commanded the corps through the gruelling Battle of Imphal. In December 1944 he and his fellow corps commanders Stopford and Christison were knighted and invested as Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the viceroy Lord Wavell at a ceremony at Imphal in front of the Scottish, Gurkha and Punjab regiments. Slim was knighted and invested as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath at the same occasion. Slim valued Scoones as a defensive commander but when Fourteenth Army went onto the offensive after Imphal he wanted a more aggressive and less calculating commander for IV Corps and Scoones was appointed to Central Command, India, an Army-level HQ which was nevertheless essentially a rear-area and administrative command.

Post-war

In 1947 he was briefly the last Military Secretary to the India Office. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1947 and later in the year he became Principal Staff Officer at the Commonwealth Relations Office. Between 1947 and 1949 he was also aide-de-camp to King George VI. From 1953 to 1957, he was High Commissioner to New Zealand.