John Philip Du Cane

Sir John Du Cane
Born	5 May 1865 South Kensington, London, England
Died	5 April 1947 (aged 81) Westminster, London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Commands held	XV Corps Western Command British Army of the Rhine Malta
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

General Sir John (Philip) Du Cane, GCB (5 May 1865 – 5 April 1947) was a British Army general and a former Master-General of the Ordnance. He held high rank during World War I.

Du Cane was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in February 1884, promoted to captain on 4 March 1893, and to major on 14 February 1900.

He served in the Second Boer War 1899-1900, and again from February 1901 when he was appointed a staff officer in South Africa. Following the end of hostilities in early June 1902, he left Cape Town on board the SS Assaye, and arrived at Southampton the next month. He was mentioned in despatches and received a brevet promotion to lieutenant-colonel in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902.

He became Commander Royal Artillery for 3rd Division in 1911.

He served in World War I initially as a Brigadier-General on the General Staff of III Corps. In 1915, as Major-General Royal Artillery, he was Artillery Advisor at General Headquarters; Robertson, Chief of Staff to the BEF in 1915, later stated that he had laid the organisational groundwork for the massive expansion of BEF artillery during the war. He was posted to the Ministry of Munitions in 1916 and then became GOC XV Corps in 1916. In that capacity, he was closely involved in Operation Hush, a planned invasion on the Belgian coast. On 12 April 1918, against the backdrop of the German "Georgette" Offensive and Field Marshal Haig's demands for French reinforcements, he was appointed liaison officer between Haig and the Allied Generalissimo General Foch.

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