John Sydney Lethbridge
Encyclopedia
Major-General John Sydney Lethbridge CB
CBE
MC
(11 December 1897 – 11 August 1961) was a British
soldier
.
RA
, Lethbridge was educated at Gresham's School
, Holt
, Uppingham School
, Leicestershire
, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and Jesus College, Cambridge
.
, 1917, serving as temporary Captain with a field company of King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners; then served with the Aden Frontier Force for operations in southern Arabia from 1917 to 1918.
He commanded, as acting Major, a Company of King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners in the Third Afghan War, Afghanistan
and North West Frontier, India
, from 1919 to 1922.
He was an undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge
from 1922 to 1924, then served in India
, again with King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners, at Roorkee
and Rawalpindi
; saw active service in the Kajuri Plain, Peshawar
, against Afridi raiders, 1930; graduated from Staff College
, Quetta
, India, 1932, and returned to postings in the UK, including Chatham
, Kent, 1933–1935, and General Staff Headquarters Northern Command, York, 1935–1936.
Lethbridge served in the Second World War, first with British Expeditionary Force
, France, 1939; commanded 220 Lethbridge Military Mission, to the USA, India, South West Pacific and Australia to study tactics and equipment required to defeat Japan in the Far East, 1943–1944; Chief of Staff, 14 Army, Burma, 1944–1945; Chief of Intelligence, Control Commission for Germany
and British Army of the Rhine
, 1945–1948; Major General, 1948; Commandant of the Civil Defence Staff College, 1949–1952, and Director of Civil Defence for the South West Region (Bristol), from September 1955 to October 1960.
Lethbridge retired to Bondleigh, near North Tawton
, in Devon
, but died in August 1961, less than a year after his retirement.
CSI
, and they had one son and two daughters.
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...
CBE
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...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(11 December 1897 – 11 August 1961) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
.
Early life
The son of Lt-Col. Sydney Lethbridge, OBEOrder 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...
RA
Royal 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:...
, Lethbridge was educated at Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, Uppingham School
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
.
Career
He was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1915 and saw active service on the Western Front from 1916 to 1917 with 123 Field Company, Royal Engineers and 38 (Welsh) Division: Battle of the Somme, 1916; in IndiaIndia
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...
, 1917, serving as temporary Captain with a field company of King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners; then served with the Aden Frontier Force for operations in southern Arabia from 1917 to 1918.
He commanded, as acting Major, a Company of King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners in the Third Afghan War, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and North West Frontier, 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...
, from 1919 to 1922.
He was an undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
from 1922 to 1924, then served 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...
, again with King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners, at Roorkee
Roorkee
Roorkee is a city and seat of a municipal council in Uttarakhand, in far northern India. It is located on the banks of the Ganges canal on the national highway between Delhi and Dehradun. Roorkee is known for Roorkee Cantonment, one of the country's oldest cantonments, and the headquarters of...
and Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
; saw active service in the Kajuri Plain, Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, against Afridi raiders, 1930; graduated from Staff College
Command and Staff College
The Command and Staff College was established in 1907 at Quetta, Balochistan, British Raj, now in Pakistan, and is the oldest and the most prestigious institution of the Pakistan Army. It was established in 1905 in Deolali and moved to its present location at Quetta in 1907 under the name of Quetta...
, Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, India, 1932, and returned to postings in the UK, including Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
, Kent, 1933–1935, and General Staff Headquarters Northern Command, York, 1935–1936.
Lethbridge served in the Second World War, first with British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
, France, 1939; commanded 220 Lethbridge Military Mission, to the USA, India, South West Pacific and Australia to study tactics and equipment required to defeat Japan in the Far East, 1943–1944; Chief of Staff, 14 Army, Burma, 1944–1945; Chief of Intelligence, Control Commission for Germany
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
and British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
, 1945–1948; Major General, 1948; Commandant of the Civil Defence Staff College, 1949–1952, and Director of Civil Defence for the South West Region (Bristol), from September 1955 to October 1960.
Lethbridge retired to Bondleigh, near North Tawton
North Tawton
North Tawton is a small town in Devon, England, situated on the river Taw.-History:The Romans crossed the River Taw at what is now Newland Mill, a little outside the present town, and established a succession of military camps there over the years...
, in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, but died in August 1961, less than a year after his retirement.
Family
In 1925, Lethbridge married Katharine Greville Maynard, the daughter of Sir John Maynard, KCIEOrder of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
CSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, and they had one son and two daughters.
Honours
- Military CrossMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, 1919 - Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe 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...
, 1942 - Companion of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe 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...
, 1946 - Commander, US Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, 1946