George Alexander Cozens

George Alexander Cozens
Born	(1910-08-01)1 August 1910 Clapham, London
Died	30 September 1986(1986-09-30) (aged 76) Balham, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1921–1954
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	British 70th Infantry Division British Forces
Battles/wars	Tobruk, El Alamein
Awards	KCMG; Mentioned in dispatches 2 times; Legion of Merit (United States); Croix de Guerre (France)

Lieutenant-General George Alexander Cozens, KCMG, (1 Aug 1910 – Sept 1986) was an officer in the British Army.

Early life and family

Cozens was educated at Eton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1939 Cozens married Helen Barnes in London. They had a son, Keith Alexander Cozens, and a daughter, Brenda Joyce Cozens.

Military career

Before the Second World War

In 1931, Cozens received a commission in the Light Infantry He later passed the Staff College and went on to serve as a staff officer in the Sudan in 1937 and on the British Military Mission to the Egyptian Army.

Second World War

Cozens was still involved in military affairs at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1941, he was serving under General Sir William Platt in Abyssinia, after which he returned to General Headquarters in Cairo: there he was appointed to Special Operations and later Military Intelligence. During the latter part of the North African campaign, Cozens served as a Brigadier (General Staff) in the 8th Army Group.

In April 1944, Cozens was promoted Lieutenant-General and was later appointed Assistant Chief to General Ronald Scobie.

Postwar service

After the war, Cozens spent the rest of his career with Military Intelligence. He retired from military service in 1954.

Honours

• Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 1 January 1951
• Mentioned in dispatches 17 November 1941, 23 May 1946
• Officer, Legion of Merit (United States) 4 April 1946
• Croix de Guerre (France) 1947/48