Balfour Oliphant Hutchison

Lieutenant-General Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison, (12 February 1889 – 26 April 1967) was a British Army officer who served in both the First and Second World Wars.

Early life and First World War Born on 12 February 1889, Hutchison was the son of Alexander Hutchison, of Braehead, Kirkcaldy, Fife. His older brother, Robert, later became a politician and a senior officer in the British Army. After attending Uppingham School, Hutchison received a commission as a second lieutenant into the Royal Artillery Supplementary Reserve on 26 June 1909. On 9 December 1911 Hutchison transferred to the 7th Hussars, and received a promotion to lieutenant on 9 August 1913. During the First World War Hutchison served with his regiment in the Mesopotamian campaign, and was mentioned in despatches four times. His fellow students there included Montagu Stopford, Michael Gambier-Parry, Dudley Johnson, Gordon Macready, Arthur Percival, Frederick Pile, Edmond Schreiber and John Smyth, all of whom, with the exception of Smyth, were destined to become general officers. He then served for two years as a staff captain with Scottish Command, before being sent to Northern China, joining the Shanghai Defence Force as a staff captain, later being made Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General. and from 1935 to 1937 he succeeded Willoughby Norrie as commanding officer of the regiment. From October 1937 until November 1938, he served as assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general to the Mobile Division, commanded by Major-General Alan Brooke, who had been one of Hutchison's instructors at the Staff College. when he was Deputy Quartermaster-General, Middle East, and with it came a promotion to the acting rank of major general. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1941. He gained the rank of major-general on 17 January 1942, when he was General Officer Commanding Sudan and Eritrea. He gained the rank of honorary lieutenant-general on 10 December 1945 upon retirement as Quartermaster-General, Army Headquarters India.

Personal life Hutchison married Audrey Jervis-White-Jervis, daughter of Herbert Jervis-White-Jervis and Beatrice Ruggles-Brise, on 28 January 1920. They had five children. He lived at Rendham Court, Rendham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, where he died on 26 April 1967.