Sir John Hawkesworth | |
|---|---|
 Rear AdmiralRichard L. Conolly of theU.S. Navy, pictured here on the right, alongside Major-General John Hawkesworth aboardUSS Biscayne, 6 September 1943. | |
| Nickname | "Ginger" |
| Born | (1893-02-19)19 February 1893 |
| Died | 3 June 1945(1945-06-03) (aged 52) |
| Buried | North Front Cemetery, Gibraltar |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-General |
| Service number | 22835 |
| Unit | East Yorkshire Regiment |
| Commands | Military Command Athens (1944–1945) X Corps (1944) 46th Infantry Division (1943–1944) 4th Infantry Division (1942–1943) 12th Infantry Brigade (1939–1940) 2nd Battalion,East Yorkshire Regiment (1937–1939) |
| Battles / wars | First World War Arab revolt in Palestine Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order &Bar Mentioned in Despatches (3) Croix de guerre (France) Croix de guerre (Belgium) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
| Relations | John Hawkesworth (son) |
Lieutenant-GeneralSir John Ledlie Inglis Hawkesworth,KBE, CB, DSO &Bar (19 February 1893 – 3 June 1945) was a seniorBritish Army officer who served during bothWorld Wars. During theSecond World War he commanded the4th Division during theTunisian Campaign in early 1943, later commanding the46th Division throughout most of theItalian Campaign and, finally,X Corps in Greece, before suffering from a fatalheart attack in June 1945.
Hawkesworth was born on 19 February 1893 and was educated atSt Bees School,Cumberland from 1907 to 1912, where he excelled atrugby, playing in the School XV in 1911–1912. One of his teammates wasG. A. West, later theBishop of Rangoon. He then went up toThe Queen's College, Oxford to read Modern History.[1]
He joined the unattached list of theTerritorial Reserve of theBritish Army on 23 January 1914, before being gazetted as asecond lieutenant into theEast Yorkshire Regiment on 15 August 1914, eleven days after Britain entered theFirst World War.[2] He served on theWestern Front during the war, mainly with the 1st Battalion of his regiment, part of the18th Brigade of the6th Division (later transferred to the64th Brigade of the21st Division), and waswounded three times, ending the war as acaptain. On thefirst day of theBattle of the Somme, on 1 July 1916, he was one of few officers not to be killed or wounded as his battalion sustained 460 casualties. In 1921 was awarded the FrenchCroix de guerre.[3]
He remained in the British Army during theinterwar period, holding various junior regimental and staff postings until attending theStaff College, Camberley between 1927 and 1928.[4][5]
He served asbrigade major of the15th Infantry Brigade from 1930 to 1932,[6] before becoming deputy assistant adjutant-general on the staff ofNorthern Command until 1934.[7] He was on the directing staff of the Staff College, Camberley as ageneral staff officer, Grade 3 (GSO3) from 1934 to 1937[8] and was promoted tolieutenant colonel, becoming a GSO1 in 1937.[9] On promotion he commanded the 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment and wasmentioned in despatches for service inPalestine during theArab revolt.[10]
In October 1939, a month after the outbreak of theSecond World War, Hawkesworth was given command of the12th Infantry Brigade, taking over from BrigadierGeorge Clark. The brigade was one of three which formed part of the4th Infantry Division, underMajor-GeneralDudley Johnson, and was then serving with theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. However, unlike in the First World War, there was no immediate action and, in late 1939, the brigade moved to theMaginot Line near Metz, where it gained experience engaging the enemy in patrolling actions. He commanded the brigade throughout theBattle of France, finally being forced toretreat to Dunkirk where his brigade wasevacuated to England at the end of May 1940, leaving France himself on 1 June.[11]
Hawkesworth handed over command of the 12th Brigade on 18 June to BrigadierDaniel Beak, who had commanded a battalion in the brigade, and, in August, he was made aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)[12] and was also mentioned in despatches for his service in France and Belgium.[13] On 9 December 1940 Hawkesworth was promoted to the acting rank of major-general and was appointed Director of Military Training (DMT) at the War Office.[14] In this role he was responsible for general military training forother ranks at a time when the British Army was undergoing a rapid expansion.[11] His rank of major-general was made temporary on 9 December 1941,[15] and, on 25 December 1941, his rank was made permanent.[16]
In March 1942 Hawkesworth handed over to Major-GeneralJohn Whitaker and returned to the 4th Infantry Division and was appointed as itsGeneral Officer Commanding (GOC), succeeding Major-GeneralJohn Swayne. Shortly after he assumed command a tank brigade (the21st) was substituted for one of the three infantry brigades (the11th) to create a "mixed" division and training began for overseas service.[17] In the New Years honours list of 1943 Hawkesworth was appointedCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[18]
Hawkesworth landed with his division inAlgeria inFrench North Africa in late March 1943, and soon moved toTunisia, where it came under the command ofLieutenant-GeneralCharles Allfrey'sV Corps, part of Lieutenant-GeneralKenneth Anderson'sBritish First Army. The division, transferring to Lieutenant-GeneralBrian Horrocks'sIX Corps, took part in the final stages of theTunisian campaign until the fighting ended on 13 May, with the surrender of nearly 250,000Axis soldiers who subsequently becameprisoners of war (POWs), although heavy casualties were sustained by Hawkesworth's division.[17] For his services in Tunisia Hawkesworth was awarded theDistinguished Service Order (DSO).[19]
The 4th Division, after suffering heavy losses in Tunisia, was rested for theSicilian campaign but in late August Hawkesworth was ordered to hand over his division to Major-GeneralHayman Hayman-Joyce, and received new orders to take over as GOC of the46th Infantry Division, aTerritorial Army (TA) formation that had seen service in Tunisia alongside his 4th Division, after the division's former GOC, Major-GeneralHarold Freeman-Attwood, was relieved of his command and arrested for a security violation.[17]
The 46th Division took part in theAllied invasion of Italy on 9 September as part of theBritish X Corps, under Lieutenant-GeneralSir Richard McCreery, then serving underLieutenant GeneralMark W. Clark'sUS Fifth Army and, repelling numerous fiercecounterattacks, suffered very heavy casualties (including Hawkesworth's senior brigade commander, BrigadierManley James of the128th (Hampshire) Brigade). After the capture ofNaples in early October the division crossed theVolturno Line, with X Corps forming the left flank of the Fifth Army's advance to theWinter Line (also known as the Gustav Line). During theFirst Battle of Monte Cassino in January 1944 the division made an assault crossing of theGarigliano river. Lack of assault boats and heavy German resistance condemned it to failure, with heavy losses, mainly to the 128th (Hampshire) Brigade. The 46th Division's failure was to have serious repercussions for theUS 36th (Texas) Division, to the right of the 46th, when itattempted to cross the Rapido River a few days later. After holding the line for the next few weeks, in March the division was relieved by Hawkesworth's old command, the 4th Division, and withdrawn to Egypt and Palestine to rest and refit, having sustained more than 5,000 casualties since landing at Salerno some six months prior.[20]
In early May 1944, Hawkesworth spent a month in temporary command of theBritish 1st Infantry Division in theAnzio beachhead when its GOC, Major GeneralRonald Penney, fell ill. Hawkesworth returned to the 46th Division in early June. By July the 46th was back in Italy, now up to strength (largely from anti-aircraft gunners who had been retrained as infantrymen), as part of Lieutenant-GeneralSir Oliver Leese'sBritish Eighth Army'sV Corps, under Lieutenant-GeneralCharles Keightley, on theAdriatic coast. The division was involved in heavy fighting duringOperation Olive, the Eighth Army's major assault on theGothic Line defences in September and October.[20]
On 6 November 1944 Hawkesworth was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant-general[21] and became GOC of X Corps in place of McCreery, who was moved up to take command of the Eighth Army. When theAxis forces withdrew from Greece, from October British troops under Lieutenant-GeneralRonald Scobie were sent there to maintain internal stability. In late 1944 Hawkesworth and his X Corps HQ were sent to help calm theGreek Civil War and to assume control of military operations so that Scobie could concentrate more on the highly complex and sensitive political aspects of the British involvement.[20]
By March 1945 Hawkesworth and his HQ had returned to Italy. X Corps was in a reserve role and not involved in thefinal offensive in April 1945, which led to the surrender of Axis forces in Italy in early May and theend of the war in Europe. By this time, however, it had become apparent that Hawkesworth was suffering from a serious heart condition. He died on the way home to Britain, when he suffered aheart attack while on board his troopship which lay atGibraltar, on 3 June 1945 at the age of fifty-two. He was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 2 June 1945.[22]
For his services in Italy he was awarded abar to his DSO and the United StatesLegion of Merit, Degree of Commander.[23] He had also been mentioned in despatches in August 1944 for his services in the Italian theatre.[24]
He left his wife, Helen Jane, and an only son, also namedJohn, who at the time was also serving with the 4th Battalion,Grenadier Guards in theNorth-West Europe Campaign. On 10 August,GeneralMark W. Clark, commander of theAllied15th Army Group, sent a tribute from his headquarters inVienna mourning the "loss of a most highly-valued friendship to his many comrades-in-arms in the Mediterranean theatre…We shall not forget General Hawkesworth, and England has our eternal gratitude for producing men of his staunch integrity and character." The post-war British Army had been deprived of a popular and able commander.[25]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | GOC 4th Infantry Division 1942–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC 46th Infantry Division 1943–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC X Corps 1944–1945 | Succeeded by Post disbanded |
