General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Campbell Richard Hardy, (24 May 1906 – 29 July 1984) was a

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

officer who served as

Commandant General Royal Marines Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General (United Kingdom), General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of Brigadier ( ...

from 1955 to 1959.

Military career

Educated at

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

, Hardy was commissioned into the

in 1924 and qualified as Physical Training Officer.Sir Campbell Richard Hardy
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He 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 ...

, being appointed as the first Commanding Officer of 46 Commando from 1943 and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) for his "gallant and distinguished services while operating with the Army in Normandy" This was followed by the award of a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his DSO for "Courage, example and enthusiasm during commando operations in Northern Europe", before he transferred to the Pacific theatre in 1944 and was appointed to command

3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. On 29 December 1944, 3 Commando Brigade, under Hardy's command, carried out an unopposed landing on the island of

Akyab Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the cit ...

in Burma.Saunders 1959, p. 310. Between 22 and 23 January 1945 he led a successful defence against Japanese forces at the

Battle of Hill 170 The Battle of Hill 170 was a battle between the British 3rd Commando Brigade and the Japanese 54th Division (Imperial Japanese Army), 54th Division during the World War II, Second World War. The battle was fought in January 1945, as part of the ...

. After the battle, the commander of the XV Indian Corps—Lieutenant-General

Philip Christison General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison, 4th Baronet, (17 November 1893 – 21 December 1993) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during the world wars. After service as a junior officer on the Western Front in the Fir ...

—stated in a special order of the day to 3 Commando Brigade, "The Battle of Kangaw had been the decisive battle of the whole Arakan campaign and that it was won was very largely due to your magnificent defence of Hill 170." After the war Hardy became Chief Instructor at the School of Combined Operations at Fremington, 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1948, and then served as commander of 3 Commando Brigade again in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, Hong Kong and

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. He went on to be commander of the

Royal Marine Depot, Deal The Royal Marine Depot, Deal was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located in an area between Lower Walmer and South Deal in Kent. The Depot (for training Royal Marine recruits) was first established in 1861, occupying part ...

in 1951, was advanced to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in October of that year, made chief of staff of the Royal Marines in 1952 and appointed

in 1955. He made an unofficial visit to the

45 Commando 45 Commando Royal Marines (pronounced "four-five commando") is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within UK Commando Force, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of the Fleet Comman ...

landing zone at

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

in 1956, was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1957, and retired in 1959.

Retirement

In retirement Hardy became Director of the Coal Utilisation Council. He lived at Bunch Lane House at Bunch Lane in

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

.Marines 'ancient and modern' take part in dedication of standard
Royal Marines Association Newsletter, November 2010, p. 10.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Campbell 1906 births 1984 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Marines generals Royal Marines personnel of World War II People educated at Felsted School