John Brind
Encyclopedia
General
Sir John Edward Spencer Brind KCB
KBE
CMG
DSO
(1878-1954) was a British Army
officer who commanded 4th Division
.
in 1897. He served in the Second Boer War
and World War I
and, as a Brigadier of the General Staff of XI Corps
, saw action on the Western Front
in the final battles of the war as part of Sir William Birdwood
's Fifth Army. He became a Deputy Director at the War Office
in 1923, Colonel Royal Artillery at Aldershot Command
in 1925 and Brigadier on the General Staff at Aldershot Command in 1927. He went on to be Major-General, Royal Artillery in India
in 1930, Deputy Chief of the General Staff at Army Headquarters in India in 1931 and General Officer Commanding
4th Division
in 1933. After that he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, International Forces in the Saar
in 1934 and then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
in India in 1937, serving in that role in the early years of World War II
before he retired in 1941.
In retirement he was Deputy Regional Commissioner for the North Eastern Region of England. He also wrote a Brind family history.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir John Edward Spencer Brind KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(1878-1954) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who commanded 4th Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...
.
Military career
Brind was commissioned into the Royal ArtilleryRoyal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1897. He served in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and, as a Brigadier of the General Staff of XI Corps
XI Corps (United Kingdom)
XI Corps was an army corps of the British Army in World War I that served on the Western Front and in Italy. It was recreated as part of Home Forces defending the United Kingdom during World War II.-Western Front:...
, saw action on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
in the final battles of the war as part of Sir William Birdwood
William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.- Youth and early career :Birdwood was born...
's Fifth Army. He became a Deputy Director at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
in 1923, Colonel Royal Artillery at Aldershot Command
Aldershot Command
-History:After the success of the Chobham Manoeuvres of 1853, a permanent training camp was established at Aldershot in 1854 on the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, Viscount Hardinge...
in 1925 and Brigadier on the General Staff at Aldershot Command in 1927. He went on to be Major-General, Royal Artillery in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1930, Deputy Chief of the General Staff at Army Headquarters in India in 1931 and General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
4th Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...
in 1933. After that he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, International Forces in the Saar
Saar (League of Nations)
The Territory of the Saar Basin , also referred as the Saar or Saargebiet, was a region of Germany that was occupied and governed by Britain and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate, with the occupation originally being under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles...
in 1934 and then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
Southern Command (India)
Southern Command is a formation of the Indian Army, active since 1895. It has seen action during the integration of several Princely States into modern India, during the 1961 Indian Annexation of Goa, and during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars....
in India in 1937, serving in that role in the early years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
before he retired in 1941.
In retirement he was Deputy Regional Commissioner for the North Eastern Region of England. He also wrote a Brind family history.