Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Brian Charles Hannam Kimmins, (30 July 1899 – 15 November 1979) was a British military commander who served as the

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 ...

Military career

Kimmins was born in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

(now North

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

), the son of psychologist Charles William Kimmins and Dame Grace Kimmins. He was the older brother of

Anthony Kimmins Anthony Martin Kimmins, Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 November 1901 – 19 May 1964) was an English Film director, director, playwright, screenwriter, Film producer, producer, and actor. Biography Kimmins was born in Harrow, London, on 10 ...

. After graduating from 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 Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

on 28 September 1917, Kimmins was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, during the latter phases of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war he served in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and became aide-de-camp to the High Commissioner for Egypt and the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in 1928. He relinquished this assignment in October 1929 and became

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1930 and

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 direct ...

for the

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. The division fought in the World War I, First World War in the Trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front ...

's 147th Infantry Brigade in 1935. He then attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

from 1938 to 1939. Kimmins served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, initially as a

General Staff Officer 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 rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

with the British Expeditionary Force in France before becoming an instructor at the Staff College in 1940, and with it came the acting rank of lieutenant colonel (which was made temporary in November). He was then, after being promoted to the acting rank of colonel and brigadier in December 1941, appointed Deputy Director of Military Training at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in London from December 1941 until May 1942 when he became a Brigadier on the General Staff of Southern Command from May until November. He became Commander, Royal Artillery for the Guards Armoured Division in 1943 and Director of Plans for

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

in 1944. He was finally Assistant Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia in 1945. On 24 February 1945, towards the end of the war, he was promoted to the rank of major general. After the Second World War Kimmins became Chief of Staff at Headquarters

Combined Operations In current military use, combined operations are operations conducted by forces of two or more allied nations acting together for the accomplishment of a common strategy, a strategic and operational and sometimes tactical cooperation. Intera ...

in 1946 and Director of Quartering at the War Office in 1947. He was appointed

Home Counties District and GOC 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division in 1950 and Director of the Territorial Army and Cadets in 1952. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland District in 1955, which saw him promoted to lieutenant general. He then retired from the army, after over forty years of military service, in August 1958. He died at the age of 80 the Somerset Nuffield Hospital in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

on 15 November 1979, leaving a wife and three children.

Bibliography

*''At Your Service – a belated autobiography of Lieutenant General Sir Brian Kimmins KBE CB DL'', Foreword by Field Marshal Lord Guthrie GCB LVO OBE DL

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimmins, Brian 1899 births 1979 deaths Royal Field Artillery officers British Army lieutenant generals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Artillery officers People from Hendon Military personnel from the London Borough of Barnet British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Academics of the Staff College, Camberley War Office personnel in World War II Academics of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley