 Horrocks was the only son of Colonel Sir William Horrocks , a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps . Educated at Uppingham School , an English public school , he entered the Royal Military College , Sandhurst , in 1913 . His score was sixth @-@ lowest of the 167 successful applicants for cadetships — even after the addition of 200 bonus points for an Officer Training Corps ( OTC ) certificate , which not all the other candidates had . An unpromising student , he might not have received a commission at all but for the outbreak of the First World War . 
