Francis Tuker Lieutenant General Sir Francis Ivan Simms Tuker KCIE CB DSO OBE ( 4 July 1894 – 7 October 1967 ) was a British Indian Army officer . Military career . Educated at Brighton College , of which he was in later life a governor , Tuker was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1914 . He served in World War I transferring to 2nd Gurkhas in the Indian Army in 1914 , and was commissioned a second lieutenant on 10 October . He served as an acting captain from 14 March to 12 April 1916 , and was promoted to lieutenant on 17 August 1917 ( back - dated to 1 September 1915 ) . Promoted to captain on 14 January 1918 , he took part in the Kuki Punitive expedition that year and in the North West Persia operations between 1920 and 1921 . He was promoted to major on 14 January 1932 , brevetted to lieutenant - colonel on 1 July 1933 , and was promoted to lieutenant - colonel on 1 February 1937 , at which time he was appointed Commander of 1 / 2 Gurkhas . For his part in operations in Waziristan that year , he was appointed an OBE ( Mil . ) on 21 December and was mentioned in despatches in February 1938 . On 27 October 1939 , a month after the outbreak of World War II , Tuker was promoted to full colonel ( with seniority from 1 July 1936 ) . He became Director of Military Training in India in 1940 . A temporary brigadier by this time , he was appointed General Officer Commanding 34th Indian Division on 1 October 1941 with the acting rank of major - general . He took over Indian 4th Infantry Division on 30 December 1941 and then commanded it during the Western Desert and Italian Campaign s . Promoted to temporary major - general on 1 October 1942 , he was mentioned in despatches on 15 December 1942 and again on 24 June 1943 . Promoted to major - general on 31 May 1943 , he was appointed a CB on 5 August 1943 . In early 1944 , towards the end of Tuker ' s time in Italy , during the fighting at Cassino allied commanders were engaged in a controversy regarding what action should be taken against the monastery at Monte Cassino . The Germans had designated it a military - free zone but many senior commanders were reluctant to believe that the Germans would not occupy such a strategically important position . Tuker had found a book dated 1879 in a Naples bookshop giving details of the construction of the monastery at Monte Cassino which his division had been tasked to attack . He wrote a memorandum to his Corps commander , concluding that regardless of whether the monastery was currently occupied by the Germans , it should be demolished to prevent its effective occupation . He also pointed out that with 150 foot ( 45 m ) high walls made of masonry at least 10 feet ( 3 m ) thick , there was no practical means for field engineers to deal with the place , and that bombing with " blockbuster " bombs would be the only solution since 1 , 000 pound bombs would be " next to useless " . The theatre commander , General Harold Alexander , agreed to the bombing ( which did not employ blockbuster bombs ) and the ruins were occupied by German forces which held the position until 18 May . Tuker commanded the 4th Indian Division until 4 February 1944 when he became seriously ill and for nearly a year took no part in the war . While recovering he assumed light duties in September 1944 becoming Chairman of the Frontier Commission in India . Once recovered he was given in January 1945 the Ceylon Army command in the acting rank of lieutenant - general and in 14 July 1945 he was put in temporary command of the IV Corps in Burma while Frank Messervy took leave for a month . For his service in Burma he received his final mention in despatches in September 1946 . Tuker reverted to his substantive rank of major - general and after taking some leave himself , became Commander , Lucknow District in November 1945 . Knighted with the KCIE in the 1946 New Year Honours , he was promoted once more to acting lieutenant - general on 21 January and appointed General Officer Commanding - in - Chief , Eastern Command , India . Promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant - general on 15 November 1946 , he retired on 25 April 1948 and died in 1967 . There is a memorial tablet to him in the chapel of Brighton College , below which hangs his sword ; at its dedication , the band of the Brigade of Gurkhas beat retreat on the school ' s playing field . Tuker ' s nickname in the army was " Gertie " . He is known for a number of books on military history that he wrote , including " The Pattern of War " , " While Memory Serves " and " The Yellow Scarf " . In his book " The Pattern of War " he argues that Warfare follows a definite pattern . External links .