Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Arthur Charles Shortt, (2 April 1899 – June 1984) was a

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 Gur ...

officer who served as

Director of Military Intelligence The Director of Military Intelligence ("D J2") ( ga, Stiúrthóir Faisnéise Míleata) serves as the commanding officer of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the intelligence section of the Irish Defence Forces, and the main foreign and do ...

from 1949 to 1953.

Military career

Shortt was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 26 August 1916, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. He served during the interwar period, where he was in charge of a company of Gentlemen Cadets at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Si ...

from January 1931. Shortt served in 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as Director of Technical Training 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 (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

from May 1943, before seeing action in North-West Europe in 1944. He was appointed an

Officer 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 June 1945. Shortt became

in December 1949, in which role he regarded the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility locate ...

Intelligence Service "as the most important Field Agency on the Soviet Army anywhere". He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a care ...

in the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

, and went on to be Head of the Joint Services Liaison Staff in Australia in September 1953 before retiring in April 1956.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shortt, Arthur 1899 births 1984 deaths British Army generals Academics of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Engineers officers Military personnel from Somerset British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II