|
Michael Gow (British Army Officer)
General Sir James Michael Gow, (3 June 1924 – 26 March 2013) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and reached high office in the 1980s, commanding the British Army of the Rhine. Military career Born on 3 June 1924 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, Michael Gow was educated at Winchester College. Although his family lacked a military background, during the Second World War Gow volunteered for the British Army and enlisted into the Scots Guards in 1942. While at Caterham Barracks, the Scots Guards regimental depot, he was informed by his drill sergeant that he resembled a bag of manure tied up with pink string. However, he was soon commissioned as a second lieutenant on 5 June 1943, shortly after his nineteenth birthday.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He served with the regiment's 3rd (Tank) Battalion, then part of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. Serving in the campaign in Northwest Europe, including during the Battle of Normandy, Gow, after being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southern suburbs were transferred from Derbyshire to the city council. It is the largest settlement in South Yorkshire and the third largest of Northern England. The city is in the North Midlands, in the eastern foothills of the Pennines and the valleys of the River Don with its four tributaries: the Loxley, the Porter Brook, the Rivelin and the Sheaf. Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield's entire area is green space and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park and is the fifth-largest city in England. There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees. Sheffield played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, developing many signifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commandant Royal College Of Defence Studies
The Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies, formerly the Commandant of the Imperial Defence College, is the head of the Royal College of Defence Studies, a British military staff college which instructs senior officers, diplomats, and civil servants. The Commandant was a senior serving military officer between 1972 and 2001: the post rotated through the three branches of the armed forces in turn. In 1971, the old Imperial Defence College became the Royal College of Defence Studies. In 1991, the post was downgraded to three-star, and then in 2001, it was opened up to competition through public advertisement. Subsequent incumbents were all senior retired military officers, until the appointment of a diplomat in 2014. In 2019, a civil service job advert stated the post would be at SCS2 pay grade, or Two-star rank or NATO OF-7 rank. List of Commandants Commandants have included: Commandant of the Imperial Defence College *Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond KCB (1926) * Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Army Group
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in western Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established on 1 November 1952 in Bad Oeynhausen, but was relocated in 1954 to Rheindahlen. The HQ complex near Mönchengladbach contained NORTHAG HQ and three other command posts: the headquarters of the Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG). Previously, 21st Army Group had been on the left flank of the Allied advance into Germany, and had advanced into the North German Plain. This may have been the reason that a four-corps sized formation - which would usually be considered an army - was given the title of 'Army group'. Badge During the construction of the main Joint Headquarters (JHQ) building, a Frankish battle axe ( Francisca) was found. It was the badge that NORTHAG chose because the Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Officer Commanding
General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC British II Corps (a three-star appointment) or GOC British 7th Armoured Division (a two-star appointment). GOC-in-C A general officer heading a particularly large or important command, such as Middle East Command or the Allied Armies in Italy, may be called a general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C). The governor of the Imperial Fortress colony of Bermuda was also appointed commander-in-chief of the disproportionately-large Bermuda Garrison. From 1912, when Lieutenant-General Sir George Mackworth Bullock replaced the late Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Walter Kitchener, through the Second World War, the military office was titled ''General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Bermuda''. GOC-in-Cs are usually one rank higher than a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staff (military)
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military unit in their command and control role through planning, analysis, and information gathering, as well as by relaying, coordinating, and supervising the execution of their plans and orders, especially in case of multiple simultaneous and rapidly changing complex operations. They are organised into functional groups such as administration, logistics, operations, intelligence, training, etc. They provide multi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer, subordinate military units and other stakeholders.PK Mallick, 2011Staff System in the Indian Army: Time for Change Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, vol 31. A centralised general staff results in tighter top-down control but requires larger staff at hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigadier (United Kingdom)
Brigadier (Brig) is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. Brigadier is the superior rank to colonel, and subordinate to major-general. It corresponds to the rank of brigadier general in many other nations. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-6, placing it equivalent to the Royal Navy commodore and the Royal Air Force air commodore ranks and the brigadier general (1-star general) rank of the United States military and numerous other NATO nations. Insignia The rank insignia for a brigadier is a St Edward's Crown over three "pips" ( "Bath" stars). The rank insignia for a brigadier-general was crossed sword and baton. Usage Brigadier was originally an appointment conferred on colonels (as commodore was an appointment conferred on naval captains) rather than a substantive rank. However, from 1 November 1947 it became a substantive rank in the British Army. The Royal Marines, however, retained it as an acting rank until 1997, when both commodore and brigadier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commanding Officer
The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as they see fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities (for example, the use of force, finances, equipment, the Geneva Conventions), duties (to higher authority, mission effectiveness, duty of care to personnel), and powers (for example, discipline and punishment of personnel within certain limits of military law). In some countries, commanding officers may be of any commissioned rank. Usually, there are more officers than command positions available, and time spent in command is generally a key aspect of promotion, so the role of commanding officer is highly valued. The commanding officer is often assisted by an executive officer (XO) or s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victory In Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations. Most former Soviet countries, and some others, celebrate on 9 May, as Germany's unconditional surrender entered into force at 23:01 on 8 May Central European Summer Time; this corresponded with 00:01 on 9 May in Moscow Time. Several countries observe public holidays on the day each year, also called Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day, or Victory Day. In the UK, it is often abbreviated to VE Day, a term which existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory. History Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide on 30 April during the Battle of Berlin, and Germany's surrender was authorised by his successor, '' Reichspräsident'' Karl Dönitz. The administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp
Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentration camp. Initially this was an "exchange camp", where Jewish people, Jewish hostages were held with the intention of exchanging them for German prisoners of war held overseas. The camp was later expanded to hold Jews from other concentration camps. After 1945, the name was applied to the Bergen-Belsen DP camp, displaced persons camp established nearby, but it is most commonly associated with the concentration camp. From 1941 to 1945, almost 20,000 Soviet Union, Soviet prisoners of war and a further 50,000 inmates died there. Overcrowding, lack of food, and poor sanitary conditions caused outbreaks of typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and dysentery; leading to the deaths of more than 35,000 peopl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
