Francis Festing

Major General Francis Festing (3rd from right) with Major General Collin Jardine at a briefing in Northern Burma (1944)

Sir Francis "front-line Frankie" Wogan Festing , GCB , KBE , DSO , DL (* 28. August 1902 in Dublin ; † 3. August 1976 in Hexham , Northumberland ) was a British field marshal (Field Marshal) of the British Army , the last from 1958 to 1961 chief of the Imperial General Staff (chief of the Imperial General Staff) was.

Life

Training as an officer and World War II

Major General Francis Festing (2nd from right) with members of the 36th Infantry Division he commanded in Burma (1945)

Festing, son of Brigadier General Francis Leycester Festing and his wife Charlotte Katherine Grindall Festing, began officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) after attending the renowned Winchester College, founded in 1382 . After graduation he was accepted into the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) in 1923 and found numerous posts as an officer and staff officer in the following years. After he was between February 23 and December 31, 1939 instructor at Staff College Camberley and from January 1 to September 20, 1940 General Staff Officer in the War Office ( War Office ) , he took over during the Second World War in temporary (Temporary) or Acting (Acting) ranks numerous commander post. Between 1940 and 1941 he was in command of the 2nd Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment and then from October 13 to December 7, 1941, in command of the 29th Independent Brigade Group (29th Infantry Brigade) deployed in South Africa , Madagascar and East Africa .

Then acted Festing, between January 1942 and 29 August 1945 as commander ( General Officer Commanding ) in Burma 29th Indian Division employed (36th Indian Division) or the on September 1, 1944 resulting from the 29th Infantry Division ( 36th Infantry Division ) and took part with this in the Burma campaign. Because of his services, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1942 and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on April 13, 1942 . He was also mentioned in the war report ( Mentioned in dispatches ) and promoted to colonel on February 8, 1945 .

Post-war period and promotion to general

After the war, Festing was between August 29, 1945 and his replacement by Major General George Erskine on May 31, 1946 Commander of the Land Forces in Hong Kong (Land Forces Hong Kong) . He was promoted to Commander of the US Legion of Merit and promoted to major general on August 17, 1946 , with this promotion being dated back to November 23, 1944. After his return he was head of the weapons and development department in the War Department between February 1, 1947 and June 1949, before he succeeded Major General Francis Matthews as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces in Hong Kong on June 26, 1949 and held this post until his replacement held by Robert Mansergh on January 17, 1950. He then returned to the War Ministry and was President of the Regular Commissions Board , which was responsible for selecting and recruiting the Army , between October 1, 1950 and March 3, 1951 , and then from April 1, 1951 to June 6, 1952 Assistant Chief of Staff at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Forces of NATO in Europe SHAPE ( Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ) .

After Festing between 6 February and 23 April 1952 Acting Commander in Chief of the Army Command East ( Eastern Command ) was, he acted as the successor to Lieutenant General George Erskine of 23 April 1954 and his replacement by Lt. Gen. Richard Hull on June 15, 1954 as commander of the British forces in Egypt ( British troops in Egypt ) . During this time he was beaten in June 1952 to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and from then on carried the suffix "Sir". In addition, he was promoted to lieutenant general on August 5, 1952 , this promotion being dated back to February 6, 1952. He was also between April 17 and 27, 1953 Acting Commander in Chief of the Land Forces in the Middle East ( Middle East Land Forces ) . He also held the position of Colonel in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers between 1953 and 1965 .

On July 1, 1954, Festing replaced General Geoffrey Bourne as supreme commander of the Eastern Command stationed in Wilton Park Estate and remained in this post until June 15, 1956, when General Charles Coleman was his successor there. During this time he received his promotion to general on November 29, 1955 and was also beaten on January 2, 1956 to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). In 1956 he succeeded General Charles Loewen as Supreme Commander of the British Land Forces in the Far East ( Far East Land Forces ) and held this position until June 24, 1958, when General Richard Hull again succeeded him. On June 13, 1957 he was raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).

Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Field Marshal

Last sparked Festing on 29 September 1958 Field Marshal Gerald Templer as chief of the Imperial General Staff (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) from. He held this post as the highest officer in the British Army until October 31, 1961 and was then replaced again by General Richard Hull. He also acted as aide-de-camp for Queen Elizabeth II between 1958 and 1960 and was also Colonel of the 3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade, from 1958 to 1966 . On September 1, 1961, he was appointed Field Marshal (Field Marshal) of the British Army promoted. On October 31, 1961, he left active military service and retired.

He became Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Northumberland County in 1962 . In 1963 he became a Knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta and in 1966 Colonel of the Royal Green Jackets . Festing, who lived in Birks near Tarset, Northumberland, also received an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from Newcastle University .

On September 29, 1937, Festing married Mary Cecilia Riddell. This marriage resulted in four sons, including the portrait painter Andrew Thomas Festing and Robert Matthew Festing , who was Grand Master of the Order of Malta between 2008 and 2017 .

Web links

• Field Marshal Sir Francis Wogan Festing on thepeerage.com , accessed March 18, 2018.
• Entry in generals.dk
• KNIGHTS AND DAMES in Leigh Rayment