lieutenant-colonel came quite quickly, in January 1938 and February 1939. Second World War At the start of the Second World War in September 1939 Gracey was Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles on the North West Frontier of India. In March 1940, upon his promotion to full colonel, he became assistant commandant of the Staff College, Quetta, with the Commandant then being Philip Christison, a British Army officer. In May 1941 he was promoted brigadier and given command of the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade which, as part of the 8th Indian Infantry Division, was sent shortly thereafter to Basra in Iraq but took no significant part in the Anglo-Iraqi War. In June 1941 the brigade was ordered to northwest Iraq to the Bec du Canard region in northeast Syria, part of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. After this Gracey and his brigade remained in Iraq as part of Iraqforce (subsequently Paiforce), protecting the Middle East from a possible Axis thrust south of the Caucasus. For his service, Gracey was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) In April 1942 Gracey was promoted to acting major-general and given the task of forming and then commanding the Indian 20th Infantry Division. The division concentrated in Ceylon for training and in August 1943 was sent to join Fourteenth Army's Indian XV Corps in northeast India to take part in the Burma campaign. Shortly thereafter the division was moved to IV Corps based at Imphal on the India-Burma border. From early April to late July the division was in almost constant combat during the Battle of Imphal, latterly as part of Indian XXXIII Corps. There was then a four-month period of rest and recuperation before the division was back in the front line with XXXIII Corps which launched an attack across the Chindwin river in December and thrust south. In February 1945 the division created a bridgehead across the Irrawaddy and broke out in mid-March to cut the Japanese communications and supplies to the battles being fought at Mandalay and Meiktila. Fourteenth Army commander Bill Slim was later to write about this action:Driving rapidly south the division captured Prome on 2 May, by which time the campaign was effectively over. In February 1945 Gracey had been appointed Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for "gallant and distinguished services in Burma and on the