Walter Clutterbuck

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British Army general (1894–1987)

title: "Walter Clutterbuck" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1894-births", "1987-deaths", "people-of-the-gallipoli-campaign", "burials-in-north-yorkshire", "british-army-generals-of-world-war-ii", "british-army-personnel-of-the-russian-civil-war", "british-army-personnel-of-world-war-i", "companions-of-the-distinguished-service-order", "graduates-of-the-royal-military-college,-sandhurst", "people-educated-at-cheltenham-college", "people-from-chippenham", "recipients-of-the-military-cross", "recipients-of-the-order-of-the-crown-(italy)", "royal-scots-fusiliers-officers", "suffolk-yeomanry-officers", "british-army-major-generals", "military-personnel-from-wiltshire"] description: "British Army general (1894–1987)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Clutterbuck" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British Army general (1894–1987) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]

FieldValue
honorific_prefixMajor-General
nameWalter Clutterbuck
honorific_suffix
imageWalter-Edmond-Clutterbuck.jpg
birth_date
birth_placeChippenham, Wiltshire, England
death_date
death_placeWensleydale, North Yorkshire, England
allegianceUnited Kingdom
branchBritish Army
serviceyears1913–1946
rankMajor-General
servicenumber8261
unitRoyal Scots Fusiliers
commands
battles
awards
::

|honorific_prefix = Major-General |name= Walter Clutterbuck |honorific_suffix = |image= Walter-Edmond-Clutterbuck.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= |nickname= |birth_date= |birth_place= Chippenham, Wiltshire, England |death_date= |death_place= Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England |placeofburial= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= British Army |serviceyears= 1913–1946 |rank= Major-General |servicenumber= 8261 |unit= Royal Scots Fusiliers |commands= |battles= |awards= |family= |other work= Major-General Walter Edmond Clutterbuck, (17 November 1894 – 2 February 1987) was a British Army officer who fought during both the First and Second World Wars.

Early life and military career

Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, on 17 November 1894, the son of Hardenhuish squire Edmund Henry Clutterbuck and Madeline Charlotte Raikes, Walter Edmond Clutterbuck was educated at Cheltenham College and later entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where, on 17 September 1913, he was commissioned into the Royal Scots Fusiliers of the British Army.

Shortly after the First World War began in August 1914, Clutterbuck was dispatched along with his battalion to England, where it became part of the 21st Brigade of the 7th Division, soon after the outbreak of war. The battalion arrived on the Western Front in October where it fought in the First Battle of Ypres and sustained very heavy casualties. Clutterbuck was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant on 31 October 1914 (made permanent in January 1915), and promoted to captain 20 March 1916. From 15 October 1915 he served as adjutant of the 1/10th Battalion, London Regiment, part of the 162nd (East Midland) Brigade of the 54th (East Anglian) Division, in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, later becoming adjutant of the Suffolk Yeomanry, and finally becoming a brigade major with the 232nd Brigade. He ended the war having been awarded the Military Cross (MC) and Bar,the Order of the Crown of Italy, was twice wounded in action and was mentioned in despatches. His MC citation reads:

::quote During the attack on the Turkish trenches near Et Tireh on September 19th, 1918, he showed great courage and devotion to duty. He was of the utmost assistance to his Brigadier throughout the action, both by keeping him informed by personal reconnaissance of the situation in the firing line, and in bringing up and directing the advance of reserves. Owing to the extreme rapidity of our advance, normal methods of communication almost entirely failed, and Captain Clutterbuck was the principal, and at times, the only, method of communication with Bde. HQ. units and with the Division. ::

His older brother, David Clutterbuck, a lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, was not so fortunate, having been killed in action in May 1917.

In October 1919, after serving in Russia during the Russian Civil War, Clutterbuck married Gwendolin Atterbury Younger; they had one son and two daughters.

Between the wars

Clutterbuck spent most of the interwar period as a captain, He was promoted to major on 8 November 1933, later serving as a brigade major with the 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade from 1 April 1935 until 11 March 1937. On 30 August 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, then in Poona, India.

Second World War

With his battalion, Clutterbuck returned to the United Kingdom in July 1940, ten months after the outbreak of the Second World War, which soon became part of Brigadier Sir Oliver Leese's 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group. In October he was promoted to the acting rank of brigadier and succeeded Brigadier Evelyn Barker in command of the 10th Infantry Brigade, part of the 4th Infantry Division, stationed in the United Kingdom in Southern England awaiting a German invasion.

On 18 November 1941 Clutterbuck was promoted to the general officer rank of acting major general and became General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1st Infantry Division in succession to Major General Edwin Morris. In June 1942 the division was converted into a 'mixed' division of two infantry brigades and one tank brigade, before reverting to a standard infantry division in November.

In late February 1943 the division left the United Kingdom, destined for French North Africa, where, from late April, it was involved in heavy fighting in the final stages of the Tunisian campaign, mainly under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey's V Corps, part of Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson's British First Army until the campaign ended on 13 May.

On 15 August Clutterbuck became GOC of the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, a first line TA formation.

Post-war

After the war Clutterbuck retired from the army on 18 October 1946, with the honorary rank of major general. He eventually settled in North Yorkshire, where he farmed, and remained there until his death on 2 February 1987 at the age of 92. He was a local councillor and was Chairman of the Bedale Hunt for many years.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. {{London Gazette. (16 September 1913)
  2. Smart p. 65
  3. {{London Gazette. (1 August 1916)
  4. {{London Gazette. (2 May 1919)
  5. {{London Gazette. (14 January 1916)
  6. {{London Gazette. (23 June 1916)
  7. "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives".
  8. {{London Gazette. (16 February 1915)
  9. {{London Gazette. (29 July 1919)
  10. {{London Gazette. (26 November 1918)
  11. "Life story: David Clutterbuck". Imperial War Museum.
  12. Burke, Sir Bernard. (1939). "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry". Burke's Peerage.
  13. after relinquishing his temporary major's rank and GSO2 assignment in September 1919.{{London Gazette. (5 November 1919)
  14. {{London Gazette. (7 November 1933)
  15. {{London Gazette. (9 April 1935)
  16. {{London Gazette. (12 March 1937)
  17. {{London Gazette. (20 October 1939)
  18. {{London Gazette. (25 November 1941)
  19. The division was a [[Regular army. Regular Army]] formation, with a few [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom). Territorial Army]] (TA) units, which, like the 4th Division, had fought in France in 1940 and had recently moved to [[East Anglia]], serving under [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom). Lieutenant-General]] [[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer). Kenneth Anderson]]'s [[II Corps (United Kingdom). II Corps]]. On 3 February 1942 Clutterbuck's permanent rank was made [[Colonel (United Kingdom). colonel]] (with seniority backdated to 1 January).{{London Gazette. (3 April 1942)
  20. {{London Gazette. (15 October 1946)

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