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{{Short description|British Army general (1917–2007)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Derek Horsford
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|2|7|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|10|5|1917|2|7|df=yes}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =London, United Kingdom
| death_place =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance ={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
| branch =[[Image:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
| serviceyears =1938–1971
| servicenumber =380035
| rank =[[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]]
| unit =
| commands =4th Battalion, [[1 Gorkha Rifles|1st Gurkha Rifles]] 1st Bn [[King's Regiment]] [[24th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|24th Infantry Brigade]] [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th (Northumbrian) Division/District]] Yorkshire District [[17th Gurkha Division]]
| battles =[[Second World War]]:
* [[Battle of Kohima]]
[[Korean War]]
| awards =[[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Distinguished Service Order]] [[medal bar|& bar]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] '''Derek Gordon Thomond Horsford''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] [[medal bar|& bar]] (7 February 1917 – 5 October 2007) was a [[British Army]] officer who commanded the [[17th Gurkha Division]].

==Military career==
Educated at [[Clifton College]]<ref>"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p427: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948 </ref> and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], Horsford was commissioned into the [[8 Gorkha Rifles|8th Gurkha Rifles]] in [[Quetta]] in 1938.<ref name=tele>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/gurkha-obituaries/1565768/Major-General-Derek-Horsford.html Obituary: Major-General Derek Horsford] The Telegraph, 11 October 2007</ref> He saw active service in the [[Second World War]] and became [[Commanding Officer]] of 4th Battalion the [[1 Gorkha Rifles|1st Gurkha Rifles]] in 1944.<ref name=tele/> He led his battalion at the [[Battle of Kohima]] securing Hunter's Hill in [[Burma]] under heavy fire.<ref name=tele/>

After a tour on the staff of [[Claude Auchinleck|General Sir Claude Auchinleck]] in [[Delhi]], he transferred to the [[Royal Artillery]] and became an Instructor at the [[Staff College, Camberley]], in 1950.<ref name=tele/> After service in [[Korea]], he was appointed [[Commanding Officer]] of 1st Battalion the [[King's Regiment]] on its formation in 1958.<ref name=tele/> After service as Assistant Adjutant-General at the [[War Office]], in 1960 he was appointed Commander of [[24th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|24th Infantry Brigade]] in which role he was rushed to [[Kuwait]] to respond to the threat from [[Abd al-Karim Qasim|Abdul Kassem]] who had seized power in [[Iraq]].<ref name=tele/> He went on to be Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] in 1964, [[General Officer Commanding]] [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th (Northumbrian) Division/District]] of the [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] in 1966 and General Officer Commanding Yorkshire District in 1967.<ref>[http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf |date=5 July 2015 }}</ref> His last appointments were as General Officer Commanding [[17th Gurkha Division]] and Malaya District in 1969 and Deputy Commander Land Forces, Hong Kong in 1970 before retiring in 1971.<ref name=tele/>

From 1965 to 1970 he was Colonel of the [[King's Regiment]].<ref name= regiments> {{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/008Kings.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217114356/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/008Kings.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 December 2007|title= The Kings Regiment|publisher= regiments.org|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref>

==Family==
In 1948 he married Sheila Kitson (née Crawford); they had a son, a stepson and two stepdaughters.<ref name=tele/> Following the death of his first wife, he married Gillian Moorhouse (née Horsford), who brought him two more stepsons, in 1996.<ref name=tele/>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Richard Keith-Jones]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|GOC 50th (Northumbrian) Division/District]]|years=1966–1967}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Rex Whitworth]] (as GOC [[North East District (British Army)|North East District]])}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Arthur Patterson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[17th Gurkha Division|General Officer Commanding 17th Gurkha Division]]|years=1969–1970}}
{{s-aft|after=Post Disbanded}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsford, Derek}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army major generals]]
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Academics of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]
[[Category:King's Regiment officers]]

Derek Horsford - Revision history

Bot at 12:04, 18 June 2022