Field MarshalAllan Francis Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton,GCB, CBE, DSO &Two Bars, MC (10 February 1896 – 20 January 1989), known asJohn Harding, was a seniorBritish Army officer who fought in both theFirst World War and theSecond World War, served in theMalayan Emergency, and later advised the British government on the response to theMau Mau Uprising. He also served asChief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, and wasGovernor of Cyprus from 1955 to 1957 during theCyprus Emergency. His administration of Cyprus was controversial for its authoritarian treatment of suspected insurgents and civilians.[2]
Born the son of Francis Ebenezer Harding and Elizabeth Ellen Harding (née Anstice) and educated atIlminster Grammar School,[3] Harding started as a boy clerk in December 1911,[4] earning promotion to assistant clerk in the Post Office in July 1913[5] and then to full clerk in the Second Division of the Civil Service in April 1914.[6][7]
Harding became a part-time soldier, joining the11th (County of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles) of theLondon Regiment, a unit of theBritish Army'sTerritorial Force, beingcommissioned as asecond lieutenant on 15 May 1914.[8][9][10]
During theFirst World War, Harding was attached to theMachine Gun Corps and fought in theGallipoli campaign in August 1915.[8][11] He transferred to theRegular Army as alieutenant in theSomerset Light Infantry on 22 March 1917 and was assigned to theMiddle Eastern theatre of operations.[12] He took part in theThird Battle of Gaza in November 1917 and was subsequently awarded theMilitary Cross.[13]
During theinterwar period, Harding adopted the name "John", which his Regular Army comrades preferred,[14] and in 1919 he was posted toIndia, serving initially with the 12th Battalion of the MGC before transferring to the 2nd Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry in July 1921.[15] He was promoted tocaptain on 11 October 1923 and, after returning to England with his battalion, later attended theStaff College, Camberley from 1928 to 1929.[16] Harding's many fellow students there includedGerald Templer,Gerard Bucknall,Gordon MacMillan,Alexander Galloway,Philip Gregson-Ellis andRichard McCreery while the instructors included men such asBernard Paget,Richard O'Connor andBernard Montgomery, the last of whom was destined to make a significant contribution towards Harding's later military career. The course at the Staff College then lasted for two years, with the first year being devoted mainly to staff work atdivisional level while the second year, which Harding believed to be a waste of time, studied staff work at thecorps andarmy level.[16]
Harding joined the general staff at headquartersSouthern Command in 1930 before becomingbrigade major of the13th Infantry Brigade in 1933.[12][17] He became acompany commander with the 2nd Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry,[18] with promotion tomajor on 1 July 1935.[12] After a tour as astaff officer in the Directorate of Operations at theWar Office, he was further promoted tolieutenant colonel on 1 January 1938.[12]
Harding served in theSecond World War, initially ascommanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, in which capacity he served inWaziristan and wasmentioned in despatches,[19] before joining the staff ofMiddle East Command in October 1940 and then becoming abrigadier General Staff (BGS) of theWestern Desert Force (WDF) in December.[20][21] He was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire for services in that role.[22][21] When Lieutenant GeneralsRichard O'Connor andPhilip Neame were captured in April 1941, Harding took temporary command of the WDF, in which capacity he took the decision to holdTobruk.[23] He was promoted to the substantive rank ofcolonel on 9 August 1941 (with seniority backdated to 1 January 1941)[24] and was later awarded theDistinguished Service Order (DSO).[25]
Harding went on to be appointed BGS ofXIII Corps (the new name adopted by the Western Desert Force ) in August 1941. Ηe was mentioned in dispatches in early 1942[26] and awarded aBar to his DSO in February 1942.[27] He was promoted to acting major-general on 26 January 1942[28] and became Deputy Director of Military TrainingMiddle East Command,[23] in which capacity he was again mentioned in despatches in the summer of 1942.[29][23] He was appointedGeneral Officer Commanding (GOC) of the7th Armoured Division in September 1942.[20] He led the division in theSecond Battle of El Alamein in October–November.[30] He led his forward headquarters from a tank and then a jeep and, during the pursuit of theAxis forces toTripoli, was subsequently wounded by shell splinters in January 1943.[20][30] He was awarded a second Bar to his DSO for his conduct in late January 1943.[31] At the same time, his rank of major-general was made temporary.[32]
Harding returned to the United Kingdom and, despite having lost three fingers from his left hand,[33] recovered relatively quickly. On 10 November 1943 he was promoted toactinglieutenant general[34] and assumed command ofVIII Corps, which was to take part in theinvasion of Normandy.[30] Soon afterwards, however, he was posted to theItalian Front in January 1944 to becomechief of staff toGeneralSir Harold Alexander, then commanding the15th Army Group (later designated theAllied Armies in Italy (AAI) before reverting to 15th Army Group in December 1944).[20] He was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 16 June 1944 for his service in Italy,[35] and promoted to the substantive rank ofmajor general on 13 July 1944.[36] He played a large part in the planning forOperation Diadem, the fourthBattle of Monte Cassino that led to the capture ofRome and the destruction of a large portion of the Axis forces and the subsequent fighting on theGothic Line.[37] He went on to take command of XIII Corps in Italy in March 1945,[37] leading it through theSpring 1945 offensive in Italy, arriving inTrieste just after the German surrender in May and theend of World War II in Europe.[20] He was also awarded theLegion of Merit in the Degree of Commander by U.S. PresidentHarry S. Truman for his conduct during the war, on 14 May 1948.[38]
Promoted after the war tolieutenant general on 19 August 1946,[39] Harding succeeded Alexander as commander of British forces in the Mediterranean in November 1946.[20] He becameGeneral Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C)Southern Command in July 1947 and went on to beCommander-in-Chief (C-in-C),Far East Land Forces on 28 July 1949[40] at the early stages of theMalayan Emergency.[3] Having been promoted to fullgeneral on 9 December 1949,[41] madeAide-de-Camp General toH.M. The King on 21 October 1950[42] and advanced to aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in theKing's Birthday Honours 1951,[43] Harding became Commander-in-Chief of theBritish Army of the Rhine (BAOR) on 30 August 1951.[44][45]
Harding was appointedChief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) on 1 November 1952:[46] in this capacity he advised theBritish government on the response to theMau Mau Uprising.[3] He was promoted tofield marshal on 21 July 1953,[47] and retired from the army on 29 September 1955.[48]
Harding was also Colonel of theNorth Somerset Yeomanry from 2 February 1949,[49] Colonel of the6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles from 18 May 1951 (to 1961),[50] Colonel of the Somerset Light Infantry from 13 April 1953,[51] Colonel of theLife Guards from 26 April 1957[52] and Colonel of theSomerset and Cornwall Light Infantry from 6 October 1959.[53]
On 25 September 1955, Harding was assigned the post of Governor of the British colony ofCyprus, where he arrived on 3 October of the same year.[54] Harding took strict measures to improve the security situation in Cyprus,EOKA having declared an armed struggle against the British on 1 April 1955.[55] To this end, Harding instituted a number of unprecedented measures including curfews, school closures, the establishment ofinternment camps, the indefinite detention of suspects without trial and the imposition ofcapital punishment for offences such as carrying weapons, incendiary devices or any material that could be used in a bomb. A number of such executions took place often in controversial circumstances (e.g.Michalis Karaolis) leading to resentment in Cyprus, Greece and several other countries.[56][57]
Implementing the policy of the British Government, Harding also attempted to use negotiations to end the Cyprus crisis. However, negotiations with ArchbishopMakarios III were unsuccessful and, eventually, Harding exiled Makarios to the British colony ofSeychelles. On 21 March 1956 EOKA made an assassination attempt on Harding's life which failed as the time bomb under his bed failed to go off.[58][59] It was not long after this that Harding offered a reward of £10,000 forGeneral George Grivas, the leader of EOKA.[60]
Facing growing criticism in the United Kingdom about the methods he used and their lack of effectiveness, Harding resigned as Governor of Cyprus on 22 October 1957 and was replaced bySir Hugh Foot.[61]
In January 1958, Harding was createdBaron Harding of Petherton.[62]
In retirement, he became Non-Executive Chairman ofPlessey[3] as well being the first Chairman of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board. His interests included his membership of the Finsbury Rifles Old Comrades Association in which he participated until late in his life.[62]
He died at his home inNether Compton inDorset on 20 January 1989, just weeks away from his 93rd birthday.[3] He is buried in theNether Compton, St Nicholas Church graveyard.[1]
In 1927 Harding married Mary Rooke; they had one son:[12]John Harding, 2nd Baron Harding of Petherton.[63]
  |
|
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | GOC 7th Armoured Division 1942–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC VIII Corps 1943–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC XIII Corps March – May 1945 | Post disbanded |
| Preceded by | GOC-in-C Southern Command 1947–1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | C-in-C Far East Land Forces 1948–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | C-in-C British Army of the Rhine 1951–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1952–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Cyprus 1955–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New title | Baron Harding of Petherton 1958–1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
