General McCreery was a very well known personality within the Regiment.

The former Adjutant of the 12th Royal Lancers in 2nd Cavalry Brigade days at Tidworth from 1923 to 1925 to the latter as Commander of the Eighth Army in Italy or G.O.C.-in-C., British Army of the Rhine.

Educated at Eton and R.M.C. Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the 12th Lancers at 17 years of age and fought in the First World War from 1915 he was wounded whilst leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross.

He graduated from the Staff College in 1929 and commanded the 12th Lancers from 1935 to 1938.

In the operations in France in 1940 he commanded the 2nd Armoured Brigade and received the D.S.O. for his services. In 1941 he Commanded the 8th Armoured Division, from which he went to M.E.F. as Major General, R.A.C., at G.H.Q. Later he became Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, M.E.F. (the then General Alexander).

After Commanding X Corps in operations in Italy he succeeded General Leese in Command of the Eighth Army, in which capacity his victorious campaign in the valley of the River Po forced the Germans to surrender in Italy at the end of April, 1945.

For his services in this theatre, he was Knighted in the field in July 1944 by King George VI, at Palazzo del Pero, near Arezzo, Italy at the conclusion of the North-West African campaign.

Following a post-war period as British Commander-in-Chief in Austria, General McCreery was appointed to Command the British Army of the Rhine in June 1946.

He succeeded Brigadier F. B. Hurndall M.C. in the appointment of Colonel of the Regiment on 21st May 1947.

Sadly, Colonel Sir R. L. McCreery passed away on 18 October 1967 at the age of 69.

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