The two infantry captains in the group of prisoners became famous generals in the Second World War. Brian Horrocks, who represented GB in the 1924 Olympics, impressed General Montgomery so much when he commanded 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment during the battle of France, that he was rapidly promoted through the ranks of Brigadier and Major General to take over 13 Corps after the first battle of El Alamein in 1942. When he arrived at the front on 18th August, he was worried that “command in the desert was regarded as an almost certain prelude to a bowler hat”. However, he earned an immediate DSO at the second battle of El Alamein and in Libya, he took over 10 Corps and fought with it all the way to Tunisia, where he led the critical outflanking manoeuvre that won the battle for Montgomery. He also successfully led 9 Corps after its commander was wounded, but his luck ran out in June 1943, when his lungs and stomach were shot through by a strafing enemy aircraft. It took him a year to recover fitness and in August 1944, he took over 30 Corps in France, leading this iconic formation all the way into Germany and commanding a pivotal role at Arnhem (he was played by the distinguished actor Edward Fox in the film A Bridge Too Far). Unfortunately, he was medically discharged before taking up the appointment as Commander in Chief, but there is no doubt that if it wasn’t for his wounds, he would have become Chief of the Imperial General Staff after after Bill Slim in 1952. Of his many achievements, perhaps the most remarkable was that he is the only person to have commanded four different corps in battle.
Horrocks owed his life in Siberia to his best friend, Eric “Georgik” Hayes, who also rose to high command. After taking 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment to France, Hayes was promoted to lead a brigade in Kent and in 1941, he took over 3rd Infantry Division, which had been led by Montgomery in France. A year later, he was given command of West Africa and in the final year of the war, he became General Officer Commanding British troops in China, where he witnessed the surrender of Japan in September 1945.
Hayes died soon after the war after a short illness, but Horrocks had a very successful life, working as Black Rod in the Houses of Parliament and carving out a unique career in the media with his battlefield histories. He would never talk about his time in Russia, but in his memoir, he did admit that the ordeal “was an excellent preparation for the stresses and strains of command in war.”
Rupert Wieloch 