Thomas Wynford Rees Thomas Wynford Rees CB , CIE , DSO & Bar , MC , DL ( 12 January 1898 – 15 October 1959 ) was an officer in the British Indian Army during World War I , the interwar years , World War II , and post - war . Early life and career . The son of the Reverend T . M . Rees , he passed out from the Officer Cadet College , Quetta and was commissioned into the British Indian Army in November 1915 and was promoted to lieutenant in October 1916 . During World War I he was awarded the DSO and MC and was mentioned in dispatches . The citation for his DSO , published in the " London Gazette " on 29 July 1919 reads : The citation for his MC , published in the " London Gazette " on 24 September 1918 reads : Between the two World Wars he spent much of his time serving on the North West Frontier of India , being mentioned in dispatches three more times . He served a term as private secretary to the Governor of Burma for which he was appointed Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire ( CIE ) in the 1931 New Year ' s honours list . In December 1937 was made brevet lieutenant - colonel for " distinguished services rendered in the field in connection with the operations in Waziristan , during the period 25th November , 1936 , to i6th January , 1937 " . World War II . During World War II , Rees fought in the East African Campaign , the North African Campaign , and the Burma Campaign . He was awarded a second DSO and mentioned in dispatches twice . As head staff officer of Indian 4th Infantry Division ( GSO1 ) he organised the division ' s highly successful action during Operation Compass in the Western Desert in 1940 . The division then played a key role in defeating the Italian imperial forces in Eritrea during the East African Campaign during which time he was promoted to command Indian 10th Infantry brigade , part of Indian 5th Infantry Division which was fighting alongside 4th Indian Division . 10th Brigade played a leading role in the Battle of Keren , the decisive battle of the campaign . 5th Indian Division left East Africa in March 1941 spending periods in Iraq , Egypt and Cyprus . In March 1942 , Rees was promoted acting major - general to command Indian 10th Infantry Division which was at the time in Iraq . Two months later the division was sent to the Western Desert to reinforce Eighth Army . Controversially , during the Eighth Army ' s retreat from the Battle of Gazala , Rees was relieved of command of the division by his Corps commander William Gott . The division , having been employed piecemeal during the battle , was ordered to consolidate near Mersa Matruh on the Egyptian border and hold off the Axis advance for 72 hours . Rees responded that the division had only just come together and that defensive works were still inadequate . He therefore doubted the division ' s ability to hold off a full - scale attack despite the addition of an extra brigade ( 2nd Free French Brigade ) . Gott told Rees he lacked resolution for the job and sacked him . Claude Auchinleck , the C - in - C , doubting that Rees was irresolute ( but obliged to support his senior commander ) gave Rees the job of organising the defence of Cairo in case of an Axis breakthrough . Shortly thereafter Rees ' s fears were confirmed when 10th Indian division ' s position was overrun . When the Axis threat to Cairo faded , Rees was sent back to India . In the autumn of 1942 Rees was appointed to command Indian 19th Infantry Division . Although the division was not sent to the front line in Burma until November 1944 , from this date until the end of the war it was in continuous action , gaining a formidable reputation for itself and Rees , who was seen as one of the army ' s most offensively - minded generals . His army commander , Bill Slim was later to write : After World War II . From 1945 to 1947 Rees commanded the Indian 4th Infantry Division and from August to September 1947 , he commanded the neutral Punjab Boundary Force tasked to maintain law and order in the Punjab which was to be divided during the transfer of power to India and Pakistan . The force was too small to control such a large area , particularly since the police forces either disintegrated or became polarised . Despite the Boundary Force ' s best efforts full - scale riots and massacres took place . The scrupulous neutrality shown by Rees ' s force brought serious criticism from the politicians of both sides and it was disbanded in early September 1947 , two weeks after independence . Rees has also been criticised for refusing to heed the advice of " Military Advisors " and " Alternate Military Advisors " from the Indian and Pakistani sides on the grounds that they were junior to him . Promoted to the permanent rank of major - general in 1947 , Rees took the job as head of the Military Committee of the Indian Emergency Cabinet until he retired from the army in 1948 . He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Monmouthshire on 15 January 1955 . Personal . Rees was married in 1926 to Rosalie , only daughter of Sir Charles Innes . They had one son , the Cabinet Minister Peter ( later Lord ) Rees , and one daughter . John Masters noted in one of his autobiographies ( The Road Past Mandalay ) that Pete Rees was an abstinent ( he " spoke softly , never swore , never drank , did not smoke . " but also , " always wore a small kind smile " ) . According to Masters , Rees was a polyglot and spoke English , Welsh , " Urdu , Marathi , Pushtu , Burmese , and Tamil . Now he asked me to teach him Gurkhali , and soon he knew enough to cause a look of startled pleasure to cross many a stolid Gurung face . " Masters also said of Rees that he had a " rare , personal gentleness and unfailing good manners " .