World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseGeorge James Giffard studied at the Rugby School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England, United Kingdom. Upon graduation, he was commissioned into the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment of the British Army in 1906. In 1913, he saw action in East Africa. Prior to WW1, he was transferred to the King's African Rifles regiment. During WW1, he saw extensive action in East Africa against German forces; he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order during the war. After WW1, he attended the Staff College at Camberley in England between 1919 and 1920. In the early 1920s, he served with the Royal West African Frontier Force. In 1927, he served with the Shanghai Expeditionary Force as the deputy commander of the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. In 1928, he was appointed an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley. In 1931, he was made the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment. In 1933, he was made the General Staff Officer, Grade 1 (ie. chief of staff) of the 2nd Division. In 1936, he was made the Inspector-General of the West African Frontier Force. In 1938, he was named the Inspector-General of the African Colonial Forces.

ww2dbaseWhen the United Kingdom joined in WW2, Giffard was a staff officer at the War Office in England. In 1940, he was sent to the Middle East as the General Officer Commanding in the British Mandate of Palestine and the British Protectorate of Trans-Jordan. In 1941, he once again returned to Africa as the commander-in-chief of the British Army West Africa Command, overseeing a force of two divisions (81st (West Africa) Division and 82nd (West Africa) Division). In Aug 1943, he was named the General Officer Commanding Eastern Army, India. Later in the same year, he was named the commanding officer of the British 11th Army Group. In late 1944, he was replaced by Oliver Leese as the 11th Army Group was reorganized into the Allied Headquarters, Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA). Concurrently to his duties at the helm of the 11th Army Group, he also served as King George VI's aide-de-camp between 1943 and 1946. In 1945, he was made the honorary colonel of the Queen's Royal Regiment. He would hold similar positions with the Royal West African Frontier Force as well as the King's African Rifles.

ww2dbaseGiffard retired from military service in 1946 and passed away in 1964.

Photographs

George Giffard Timeline

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1.  Alan Chanter says:
23 May 2015 06:39:06 AM

Sir George had a somewhat difficult time as the Commander of 11th Army Group. While he got on very well with William Slim who commanded the 14th Army, the American General Joseph Stilwell, who commanded the American-led Northern Combat Area Command (NCAS) refused to work under Giffard, claiming his position as Mountbatten's deputy made him (effectively) Giffards superior officer. The situation was not improved through frequent clashes with the Supreme Commander who failed to correct the complicated and disruptive command structuture that had allowed to develope under his watch.