General Sir George Giffard GCB, DSO | |
|---|---|
 General Sir George Giffard inBritish India inc. 1943 | |
| Born | (1886-09-27)27 September 1886 Englefield Green,Surrey, England |
| Died | 17 November 1964(1964-11-17) (aged 78) Royal Hampshire County Hospital,Winchester, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1905–1946 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 3408 |
| Unit | Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) |
| Commands | 11th Army Group (1943–44) Eastern Army, India (1943) West Africa Command (1940–43) British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan (1940) 2nd Battalion,Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment (1932–33) |
| Battles / wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (2) Croix de Guerre (France) Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland) |
| Relations | Susan Lawrence (aunt) |
GeneralSir George James Giffard,GCB, DSO (27 September 1886 – 17 November 1964) was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in theFirst World War, rising to command an Army Group in South East Asia in theSecond World War.[1]
Giffard was the eldest son of George Campbell Giffard, Clerk of the Journals, House of Commons, and Jane Lawrence, granddaughter of the judge SirJames Bacon. He was thus a nephew of the Socialist politicianSusan Lawrence. After attendingRugby School and theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned into theQueen's Royal West Surrey Regiment in 1906.[2] In 1913, while serving with its 1st Battalion, he saw action in East Africa. He transferred into a unit of theKing's African Rifles.[2][3]
Giffard saw active service in theFirst World War, his unit serving in theEast Africa campaign against the German colonial forces (Schutztruppe) underLettow-Vorbeck. He rose to command a column of two battalions of the KAR, "Gifcol".[2] Highly respected and lauded by his own soldiers, an Australian scout under his command commented that Giffard was "an efficient and tireless soldier, [who] expected his officers and men to be the same".[4] He was also wounded, was awarded theDSO, and wasmentioned in despatches four times.[2] Although Lettow-Vorbeck's forces were never rounded up, Gifcol was nevertheless the most effective unit involved in the efforts to pursue and capture them,[2] and came close to destroying the remaining Schutztruppe during theBattle of Lioma in 1918.[5]
After the war, Giffard attended theStaff College, Camberley from 1919 to 1920. On graduating, he joined theRoyal West African Frontier Force.[2] In 1927 he participated in the Shanghai Expeditionary Force as theSecond-in-Command of the 1st Battalion the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. The following year, he was appointed an Instructor at the Staff College, Camberley, and then in 1931 attended theImperial Defence College, and later becameCommanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment atAldershot.[2] In 1933 he became aGeneral Staff Officer, Grade 1 (GSO1) (effectively theChief of Staff) of theBritish 2nd Infantry Division.[3]
Giffard returned to West Africa in 1936, when he was appointed Inspector-General of the West African Frontier Force.[2] He was appointed Inspector-General of African Colonial Forces in 1938.
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Giffard began theSecond World War asMilitary Secretary at theWar Office, and then, from 1940, wasGeneral Officer CommandingBritish Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan.[2]
In 1941 he becameCommander-in-Chief of theWest Africa Command. While theMediterranean was barred to British shipping byGerman andItalian naval and air force units, West Africa was an important link in Allied lines of communication to the Middle East and the Far East. In addition to organising the logistic infrastructure, Giffard's major achievement was the reorganisation of the units of the Royal West African Frontier Force into two field infantry divisions, capable of serving as independent forces in rough terrain. Initially, this was in response to a potential threat fromVichy French forces in Senegal and Niger. Later, these two divisions,81st (West Africa) Division and82nd (West Africa) Division served with distinction in theBurma Campaign.[2]
He was made General Officer Commanding, Eastern Army, in India, in May 1943.[2] This army faced theJapanese army which had occupiedBurma. Several sources, notably Field MarshalWilliam "Bill" Slim, testified to his contribution to the improvement in morale and effectiveness in Eastern Army during this period.[6]
In October 1943 he was appointed Commander in Chief of11th Army Group in India and Burma,[2] effectively being commander in chief of land forces in theSouth East Asia Command. His period of command here was less happy. He was temperamentally the opposite of the publicity-hungry Commander in Chief, AdmiralLouis Mountbatten, and the two men often clashed.[7] He and theUnited States GeneralJoseph Stilwell also disliked each other. Stilwell, as commander of theNorthern Combat Area Command, refused to take Giffard's orders, claiming that he could not submit American forces to British control, and as Deputy Supreme Commander to Mountbatten he was in any case Giffard's superior. The resulting command arrangement was an awkward compromise.[8]
Giffard was appointed aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the1944 New Year Honours.[9] In March, relations between Mountbatten and Giffard broke during a crisis at the start of theBattle of Imphal. Mountbatten acted decisively to obtain transport aircraft from theUnited States Army Air Force to fly reinforcements and supplies to the isolated Allied troops atImphal. Mountbatten's Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-GeneralHenry Pownall, wrote that Giffard had shown no initiative at all.[10] Giffard was notified of his dismissal in May, but was asked to remain in post until his successor, Lieutenant-GeneralOliver Leese, could relieve him. As a result, he remained until October.[11]
In 1945, Giffard was made Colonel of the Queen's Royal Regiment.[2] He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal West African Frontier Force and of the King's African Rifles.[2] Giffard was alsoAide-de-Camp General to theKing from 1943 to 1946.[2] He retired in 1946.[2]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Military Secretary 1939–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan February–June 1940 | Succeeded by |
| New command | GOC West Africa Command 1940–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC-in-C Eastern Army, India May–October 1943 | Succeeded by |
| New command | GOC-in-C 11th Army Group 1943–1944 | Succeeded by Sir Oliver Leese (As GOC Allied Land Forces South East Asia) |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Colonel of the 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot 1945–1954 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
