General Sir George Giffard GCB DSO
Commanded 2nd Bn The Queen's Royal Regiment from 13th March 1931 to 22nd July 1933.
George James Giffard was born on 27th September 1886. He was commissioned in The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment on 24th January 1906 and served with the 1st Battalion for the next seven years before being seconded to the King's African Rifles.
In the 1914-18 War he served in East Africa and was wounded. He was Mentioned in Despatches four times and awarded the DSO. In 1919 he attended the Staff College and from 1920 t.o 1925 served with the Royal West African Frontier Force.
In 1927 he rejoined the 1st Battalion in China and commanded HQ Wing as Brevet Lt Col. From January 1928 to January 1931 he was an instructor at the Staff College and then became a student of the Imperial Defence College.
In March 1931 he was appointed to command the 2nd Battalion but did not actually join the Battalion until January 1932 after completing the course at the Imperial Defence College.
In July 1933 he was promoted Colonel and appointed GSO I of 2 Division. He was ADC to King George V in 1935. In 1936 he was promoted Major-General and appointed Inspector-General of the Royal West African Frontier Force and King's African Rifles. In 1939 he became Military Secretary to the Secretary of State (Mr Hore-Belisha) and in 1940 was posted to the Middle East as GOC in Palestine and Trans-Jordan. He later was appointed Commander-in-Chief in West Africa and in 1941 was promoted General and made KCB. In the spring of 1943 he was posted to India as GOC Eastern Army. In August 1943 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, 11th Army Group and under him was General Slim as GOC 14th Army. In 1944 he was made GCB.
From 1943 to 1946 he was ADC General to King George VI.
He retired from the Army on 17th August 1946.
In 1945 he was appointed Colonel of The Queen's Royal Regiment which appointment he held until 1954.
He died on 17th November 1964.
For obituary see the Journal of The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Vol 2 No 3 May 1965 page 194.
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