Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, in No 1 Dress, 1964

Oil on hardboard by Edward Brian Seago (1910-1974), 1964.

Claude John Eyre Auchinleck (1884-1981) joined the 62nd Punjabis in 1904 and served in the Indian Army until 1947. Active service in Mesopotamia during the World War One (1914-1918) was followed by a series of staff appointments in India. Early in 1940 he was posted to the United Kingdom and led troops in the ill-fated Norwegian campaign.

After a brief spell as General Officer Commanding Southern Command, Auchinleck was promoted to full general and returned to India as Commander-in-Chief in 1941. This was followed by 13 months as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, a position from which he was dismissed by Churchill after he refused to be pressured into a premature offensive against Rommel. In June 1943 Auchinleck's second tour as Commander-in-Chief, India began; he was the last to hold that position. After independence in August 1947 he briefly became Supreme Commander India and Pakistan but resigned in November 1947.

This portrait was commissioned for the Indian Army Memorial Room.