Arthur Percival
Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC, OStJ, DL (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for his defeat in the Second World War, when he commanded British Empire forces during the Japanese Malayan Campaign and the subsequent Battle of Singapore.
Arthur Ernest Percival | |||||||||||
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Percival, pictured here as GOC Malaya Command, December 1941 | |||||||||||
| Born | 26 December 1887 Aspenden, Hertfordshire, England | ||||||||||
| Died | 31 January 1966 (aged 78) Westminster, London, England | ||||||||||
| Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||||||||
| Service/ | British Army | ||||||||||
| Years of service | 1914–1946 | ||||||||||
| Rank | Lieutenant-General | ||||||||||
| Service number | 8785 | ||||||||||
| Unit | Essex Regiment Cheshire Regiment | ||||||||||
| Commands held | Malaya Command (1941–1942) 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division (1940–1941) 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (1940) 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (1932–1934) 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (1918) | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | First World War
Russian Civil War
Anglo-Irish War
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| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3) Croix de guerre (France) | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Margaret Elizabeth MacGregor Greer
(m. 1927; died 1953) | ||||||||||
| Children |
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 白思華 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 白思华 | ||||||||||
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Percival's surrender to the invading Imperial Japanese Army force, the largest surrender in British military history, undermined Britain's prestige as an imperial power in East Asia. His defenders, such as Sir John Smyth, have argued that under-funding of Malaya's defences and the inexperienced, under-equipped nature of the Empire army in Malaya, not Percival's leadership, were ultimately to blame.