Adrian Gore | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1900-05-14)14 May 1900 Ayr, Scotland |
| Died | 7 June 1990(1990-06-07) (aged 90) Horton Priory |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1919−? |
| Rank | Brigadier |
| Service number | 12503 |
| Unit | Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) |
| Commands | Green Jackets Officer Cadet Training Unit |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order andBar[1] |
| Alma mater | Eton College |
| Spouse | Enid Aimée |
| Children | 3 |
| Relations | Robert Clements Gore, CB, CMG, and Rachel Cecilia |
BrigadierAdrian Clements GoreDSO (14 May 1900 – 7 June 1990) was aBritish Army officer who served with distinction inWorld War II. He won fame as a schoolboy cricketer forEton College and was named as aWisden Cricketer of the Year in 1919.
Gore was born atAyr in Scotland in 1900,[2][3] the only child of Army officerRobert Clements Gore,CB,CMG, and his wife Rachel Cecilia (daughter of Llewellyn Traherne Bassett Saunderson,JP and Lady Rachel Mary Scott, daughter of the 3rdEarl of Clonmell).[4] At birth he was initially believed to have been stillborn and was placed to one side to be buried until a nurse noticed that the child was alive.[5] He was a descendant ofSir William Gore, 3rd Baronet.[6]
Gore is recorded as having been atHarristown House, Ireland on the night of 2 April 1911, when the1911 census of Ireland was carried out.[7] Ten year old Gore was noted as being the grand-nephew of residents Percy La Touche and wife Annette.[8]
Gore was educated atEton College and theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst.
Gore's father served in theArgyll and Sutherland Highlanders in theSecond Boer War and in India before serving in France duringWorld War I. He rose to the rank of Brigadier-General and was commanding the101st Brigade in Belgium when he was killed in action in April 1918 aged 50. He is buried atLijssenthoek Military Cemetery nearYpres.[5][9][10]
Gore was a "naturally gifted all-round sportsman" whoWisden described as having "a touch of genius".[11] He played games such asracquets at school but played little cricket before 1918, his final year at Eton. During the 1918 season he shot to fame as a fast-medium bowler with a devastating late in-swing who demolished both adult and other schoolboy cricketers. He took 51 wickets in all that season, at an average of 7.51 runs per wicket.[11] With nofirst-class cricket played in the season,Wisden picked Gore and four other public school cricketers for its annual five Cricketers of the Year feature.
From 1921 to 1932, he played 16 first-class matches, mainly forThe Army although he appeared twice for theCombined Services against touring international sides and once for the Gentlemen in the 1925Gentlemen v Players match atFolkestone.[3] He took a total of 52 first-class career wickets at abowling average of 21 runs apiece.[2]
Afterpassing out from Sandhurst, Gore wascommissioned as asecond lieutenant into theRifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) on 17 December 1919.[12] He served during most of theinterwar period with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, initially inIreland during theIrish War of Independence[13] and then in Turkey and Malta.[14]
By the outbreak ofWorld War II in September 1939, Gore was training officer for the Rifle Brigade and was serving at the regimental depot atWinchester.[15] In 1941 he was selected to command the Green Jackets Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU). The Rifle Brigade, along with theKing's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), provided themotorised infantry battalions for the British Army's armoured divisions.[15]
He remained in this role until the following year when he was given command of the10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles) for theTunisian campaign.[14][16] He temporarily commanded the7th Motor Brigade,[15][17] before being promoted tobrigadier and taking over the2nd Infantry Brigade, with which he served at theAnzio beachhead. He was recalled from Anzio to form61st Infantry Brigade (consisting of battalions of the Rifle Brigade), which he commanded throughout the remainder of theItalian campaign. He was slightly wounded when a jeep was blown up on a mine. He temporarily commanded the6th Armoured Division while the division was on occupation duty inAustria from July 1945 and later atVerona between September 1945 and March 1946.[14][18][19]
In 1927, Gore married Enid Aimée (1902−1997), daughter of John Jameson Cairnes, of Horton Priory,Sellindge,Kent. They had a son, Major Toby Clements Gore (b. 1927), of theRifle Brigade,High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1993,[20] and two daughters: Dinah (1930−1987), who married Lt-Col J. Richard S. Besly (1931-2019),[21] of theGrenadier Guards, and had two sons and three daughters; and Belinda (b. 1940), who marriedSir Anthony Frederick Milbank, 5th Baronet, and had two sons and a daughter.[22][23]
Gore died in June 1990 at Horton Priory, aged 90, survived by his son and younger daughter.[11][22]