Frederick McCracken Lieutenant - General Sir Frederick William Nicholas McCracken , KCB , DSO , ( 18 August 1859 – 8 August 1949 ) was a British Army officer who saw regimental service in Africa during the late nineteenth century , and later held senior command during the First World War . He commanded an infantry brigade in the British Expeditionary Force of 1914 , was appointed to command 15th ( Scottish ) Division in the New Armies from 1915 to 1917 , and then briefly commanded XIII Corps on the Western Front before being posted to a home command in the United Kingdom . Early career . Born in 1859 , the youngest son of the de Crez McCracken family of Kent , he studied at Sandhurst and then took a commission as a second lieutenant in the 49th Regiment of Foot in 1879 . He was promoted to lieutenant the following year , and served in the Anglo - Egyptian War of 1882 with his regiment , which had since become the 1st Battalion , Royal Berkshire Regiment . After Egypt he was appointed the battalion adjutant , and promoted to Captain in 1884 . He saw service during the Mahdist War in 1885 , at Tofrek , where he was mentioned in despatches and given a brevet promotion to Major . Serving on the Egyptian frontier later in the year , he saw action at the Battle of Ginnis . He married Ann Liston Glover in 1887 ; the couple would have a son and two daughters before Ann ' s death in 1923 . In April 1892 he was seconded to the staff and appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant - General in Barbados . He received a full promotion to Major in 1897 , and when his term on the staff expired in April that year he returned to his regiment . At the outbreak of the Second Boer War , he fought in South Africa with the 1st Berkshires through 1900 , and in 1901 took command of the 2nd Berkshires . In 1902 , he commanded a garrison force of several battalions . For his services in the war , he was again mentioned in despatches and given a brevet - promotion to lieutenant - colonel . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order , as well as the Queen ' s medal with three clasps , and the King ' s medal with two . First World War . After the Boer War , McCracken received a full promotion to Lieutenant - Colonel in 1903 , then a brevet promotion to Colonel in 1905 . He commanded a battalion of his regiment until 1907 , when he was placed on half - pay . He held staff postings in India until 1911 , when he was made a brigadier - general on the staff at Irish Command . In 1912 he was given command of 7th Infantry Brigade , with the temporary rank of Brigadier - General , a position he was holding on the outbreak of the First World War . He commanded the 7th Brigade when it was sent to France in 1914 as part of 3rd Division . At the Battle of Le Cateau in August , McCracken was briefly disabled by an artillery shell on the 26th and was relieved by Colonel W . D . Bird , one of his battalion commanders . The 7th Brigade covered the retreat of II Corps , and after a personal recommendation to the corps commander by Edmund Allenby , who was commanding the Cavalry Division , McCracken was promoted to Major - General in October , and appointed Inspector of Infantry . In 1915 he took command of 15th ( Scottish ) Division , a New Army division , and led it through the Battle of Loos , the Battle of the Somme , and the Battle of Arras . Whilst he had been praised for his resilience in command of 7th Brigade , reports on his command of 15th Division were less favourable , with one observer describing him as " weak and lazy " . These failings did not stop him being promoted to command XIII Corps in June 1917 . He remained with the corps until March 1918 , when he was sacked and sent home to take over Scottish Command . During the war , he was mentioned in despatches a further seven times , and made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . He retired from the Army in 1922 , and died in 1949 , a few days before his ninetieth birthday . References .