General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Kenneth Thomas Darling (17 September 1909 – 31 October 1998) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who after serving with distinction during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

was Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Allied Forces Northern Europe 1967–69.

Early life

Darling was born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, the eldest son of George Kenneth Darling (1879–1964) of the Indian Civil Service and his wife Mabel Eleanor, née Burgess (d. 1952). His younger brother, the future Major General

Douglas Darling Major General Douglas Lyall Darling & Bar, MC & Bar (3 October 1914 – 28 December 1978) was a British Army officer who was highly decorated for gallantry and leadership during the Second World War. Early life Darling was born in India, the ...

(1914–1978), was also to become a distinguished soldier.

Military career

Upon being sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Kenneth Darling was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Fusiliers on 29 August 1929. He served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, in the United Kingdom, before serving with the 1st Battalion in India for eight years, from 1930 to 1938. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 29 August 1932, and captain on 1 August 1938. Soon after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in September 1939 Darling returned to the United Kingdom where, from January−April 1940 he attended the Staff College, Camberley as a student, and after graduating he was made a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

with the 1st London Brigade, part of the

1st London Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. ...

. Serving briefly as a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, he was an instructor at the

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment established in 1916 by Brigadier-General R.J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-service cooperation. It was established as part of a ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, from January−October 1941, before returning to the War Office for eight months as GSO1 Military Training. From June 1942 he was Commanding Officer (CO) of the 11th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He commanded the battalion, a second line Territorial Army which formed part of the 140th Brigade, itself part of the 47th (London) Infantry Division. He served in North West Europe during 1944 and 1945 and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

on 7 June 1945 while serving with the

12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion The 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was formed by the conversion of the 10th (East Riding Yeomanry) Battalion ...

, initially as its second-in-command and then as its commanding officer. He became Commander of the 5th Parachute Brigade in 1946, then serving in Palestine during the

Palestine Emergency A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 an ...

, of the Airborne Forces Depot in 1948 and of the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade in 1950. He was Chief of Staff of I (British) Corps from 1955, General Officer Commanding II Corps from 1956 and then Deputy Director, Staff Duties at the

from 1957. He went on to be General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations Cyprus District in 1958, Director of Infantry in 1960 and General Officer Commanding I (British) Corps in 1962. His last appointments were as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Southern Command in 1964 and Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1967 until his retirement in 1969. Darling was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1969,

Knight Commander of the 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 medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in 1963,

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1957 and Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1957. He was Honorary Colonel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) from 1963 to 1968, Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment from 1965 to 1967, Honorary Colonel of

the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part of ...

from 1968 to 1974 and ADC General to the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

during 1968 and 1969. Darling KT BluePlaque Chesterton VicarageFarmhouse

In 1941 Darling married Pamela Denison-Pender (1915–). His wife's sister, Cynthia, was married to the soldier and racing correspondent Roger Mortimer. Darling lived at Vicarage Farmhouse,

Chesterton, Oxfordshire Chesterton is a village and civil parish on Gagle Brook, a tributary of the Langford Brook in north Oxfordshire. The village is about southwest of the market town of Bicester. The village has sometimes been called Great Chesterton to distinguis ...

from 1958 until his death on 31 October 1998. An Oxfordshire Blue Plaque commemorating him was unveiled on his house on 4 July 2015.

References

Sources

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Kenneth 1909 births 1998 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of World War II British Parachute Regiment officers British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel of British India People educated at Eton College Royal Fusiliers officers War Office personnel in World War II British people in colonial India