John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton
Allan Francis Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton GCB , CBE , DSO & Two Bars , MC , called John Harding (born February 10, 1896 in South Petherton, Somerset ; † January 20, 1989 in Nether Compton, Dorset ), was a British Field Marshal , Governor of Cyprus and Chief of the Imperial General Staff .
Life
John Harding first attended school in Ilminster , Somerset , and then studied at King's College London . He served as a lieutenant in the Middle East during World War I. At the beginning of the Second World War he served in Wasiristan and was Mentioned in dispatches . Then he went to the Middle East. In 1942 he commanded the 7th Panzer Division , the famous "desert rats" against the German-Italian units. At the end of the war he commanded the XIII. Army Corps.
In 1946 John Harding succeeded Harold Alexander as commander of British troops in the Mediterranean. From 1948 he was Commander in Chief of the British Land Forces in the Far East and in 1951 he became Commander in Chief of the British Army of the Rhine . 1952 to 1955 he was chief of the Imperial General Staff. In this capacity he was appointed field marshal in 1953.
On October 3, 1955, John Harding became governor of Cyprus and at the same time commander in chief of the British troops in Cyprus. He held this office until October 22, 1957. During this time, the resistance against the colonial power erupted violently in a terrorist uprising organized by the EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston). His attempts to negotiate with Greeks and Turks on the island failed. Harding had to put in considerable effort to contain terrorism. So he arranged that the head of the Greeks on the island, Archbishop Makarios III. , had to go into exile in the Seychelles for a year . Although some of his troops were extremely brutal, they were not able to completely defeat terrorism.
On his return to England he was raised to Baron Harding of Petherton in 1958 . His son John Charles Harding inherited this title after his death .
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim |
Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1952–1955 |
Gerald Templer |
| Sir Robert Perceval Armitage |
Governor of Cyprus 1955–1957 |
Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot |
| New title created |
Baron Harding of Petherton 1958-1989 |
John Charles Harding |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Harding, John, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Harding, Allan Francis John; Harding of Petherton, John Harding 1st Baron |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British Field Marshal, Chief of the General Staff |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 10, 1896 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | South Petherton, Somerset |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 20, 1989 |
| Place of death | Nether Compton, Dorset |