John Swayne
Lieutenant-General Sir John George des Reaux Swayne KCB CBE (3 July 1890 – 16 December 1964) was a senior British Army officer who became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of South-Eastern Command during the Second World War.
Sir John Swayne | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Swayne in 1942. | |
| Nickname(s) | "Jack"[1] |
| Born | 3 July 1890 Warminster, Wiltshire, England |
| Died | 16 December 1964 (aged 74) London, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1911−1946 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-general |
| Service number | 17966 |
| Unit | Somerset Light Infantry Royal Northumberland Fusiliers |
| Commands held | 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 4th Infantry Division South-Eastern Command Chief of the General Staff (India) |
| Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Military career
Born the son of William Swayne, the Bishop of Lincoln,[2] Swayne, after being educated at Charterhouse School and the University of Oxford, was commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1911.[3][4] He served in the First World War, spending most of it as a prisoner of war.[3]
After the war he was appointed aide-de-camp to the general officer commanding Western Command in India before becoming adjutant of his regiment in 1924.[3] He became a general staff officer at the War Office in 1927 and brigade major for 7th Infantry Brigade in 1929.[3] He was made military assistant to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1930 and chief of staff for the International Force for the Saar Plebiscite in Germany in 1934.[3] He was selected to be Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in 1935 and chief instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1937.[3]
He served in the Second World War, initially as head of the British Military Mission to the French General Headquarters and then as general officer commanding 4th Division from 1941.[3] He was appointed chief of the general staff for Home Forces in 1942 and general officer commanding-in-chief of South Eastern Command in 1942.[3] His final appointment was as chief of the General Staff in India in 1944; he retired in 1946.[3]
References
Bibliography
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.