George Giffard

Born	27 Sep 1886
Died	17 Nov 1964
Country	United Kingdom
Category	Ground

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

George 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.

When 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.

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

Source: Wikipedia

George Giffard Timeline

27 Sep 1886	George Giffard was born at Englefield Green, Surrey, England, United Kingdom.
4 Jun 1917	George Giffard was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
31 Aug 1917	George Giffard was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal of France.
1 Jan 1938	George Giffard was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
1 Jan 1941	George Giffard was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
1 Apr 1941	George Giffard was mentioned in a despatch for his service in the Middle East between 1939 and 1940.
14 Dec 1943	George Giffard was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta of Poland.
1 Jan 1944	George Giffard was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.
26 Oct 1944	George Giffard was mentioned in a despatch for his service in Burma and India.
17 Nov 1964	George Giffard passed away at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, England, United Kingdom.