Major General Sir Douglas Anthony Kendrew, (22 July 1910 – 28 February 1989) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

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 ...

who 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 ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, an international rugby player, and the 22nd

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

from 1963 to 1974. Kendrew was sometimes known as Joe Kendrew, especially during his rugby career.

Early life, family and rugby career

Douglas Anthony Kendrew was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England on 22 July 1910: he was the elder son of Alexander John Kendrew (1881–1929) and Eva Stella, née Faviell (1880–1952), and was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

. He married in 1936 Nora Elizabeth Harvey, of Malin Hall,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, daughter of John Harvey (1865–1940) and Florita Anna, née O'Donoghue (1874–1943); the couple had a son and a daughter. His daughter Marcia subsequently married Colonel Richard Abel Smith, the son of Sir Henry Abel Smith, a

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

. Kendrew played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for England 10 times and was captain of the team in 1935. He was a member of the 1930 British Lions tour of Australasia but did not represent the Lions in any of the test matches. He captained the Army Rugby Union team in the Army Navy Match against the Royal Navy winning 11–8, on 2 March 1935. In that match he played in a formidable front row of prop

Frank Whitcombe Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardif ...

and hooker A. J. A. Watson, in a famous victory with the Army team having only 13 players; for most of the match the scrum packed down with only six forwards due to injuries.

Military career

Kendrew joined Uppingham School Officer Training Corps, and attained the rank of cadet under officer. Kendrew was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the Leicestershire Regiment Supplementary Reserve of Officers on 18 January 1930, and joined the regiment on 28 August 1931. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1934,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1939 and

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1946 (he held appointments as acting or temporary major, lieutenant colonel,

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

at various times and ended the war as a war substantive lieutenant colonel). From November 1936 until December 1938 he served as assistant instructor and instructor at the Tank Driving and Maintenance School (subsequently the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School) at Bovington Camp. Kendrew was then an instructor at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

until 1 September 1939, the day the

began. During the war, Kendrew served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

as 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 direct ...

with the 36th Brigade from 1942. From 12 February 1943 until 18 March 1943 he was a general staff officer, 2nd grade (GSO2) (Operations) at First Army headquarters in Tunisia. He commanded the 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, of 138th Infantry Brigade in 46th Infantry Division, in North Africa and Italy in 1943 and served as commander of the

128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade The Hampshire Brigade, previously the Portsmouth Brigade and later 128th (Hampshire) Brigade, was an infantry formation of the British Army of the Volunteer Force, Territorial Force (TF) and Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army (TA) ...

in Italy, Middle East, Greece and Austria between 1944 and 1946. His leadership and bravery saw the distinction of him being 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 ...

three times during this period. After the war, from June until November 1946, Kendrew was general staff officer, 1st grade (GSO1) (Infantry) at Central Mediterranean Forces headquarters. Two training appointments followed immediately: until August 1948 he was commandant at the School of Infantry of the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

and then commandant at the

Army Apprentices School, Harrogate The Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate, England, is the sole Recruit training, initial military training unit for British Army recruits who enlist aged between 16 and 17.5 years. AFC delivers two 'Phase 1' initial training courses: t ...

until 13 September 1950. Kendrew had been appointed several times as acting and temporary lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier from March 1943 and on 28 July 1951 he received the permanent rank of colonel. He was appointed to the Adjutant General's and Quartermaster General's Staff, Northern Ireland District in October 1950 and served there until 27 September 1952. During the

, as a temporary brigadier, Kendrew commanded the 29th Infantry Brigade, Commonwealth Division and received the rare distinction of a fourth award of the DSO. In 1954 and 1955 he served at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. He was Brigadier A/Q at the adjutant general's & Quartermaster General's Staff at Headquarters Northern Command (York) from 10 March 1955 until 28 September 1956. Kendrew was appointed in the temporary rank of major general as general officer commanding and director of operations Cyprus District in October 1956 until October 1958, during a turbulent period of British rule. In September 1958 he survived an assassination attempt by

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

fighters, which killed one of his escorts. During his time in Cyprus, Kendrew's permanent rank was advanced to brigadier on 19 April 1957, and then to that of major general on 29 June. For two years from December 1958, Kendrew was director of infantry 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. He was the director of information at the War Office from 1959 to 1960 and then head of British Defence Liaison Staff at the British High Commission to Australia in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

from 1961 to 1963. He retired from the army on 1 September 1963.

Governorship and retirement

As a retired officer, Kendrew became Colonel of the

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

from May 1963 until the reorganisation in September 1964, when he became Deputy Colonel of The

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regi ...

, holding the post until August 1965. Kendrew was appointed

on 23 September 1963, serving until 6 January 1974. His term was extended twice. Kendrew was honorary colonel of the Special Air Service Regiment, RWAR Australia in 1965; president of the

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

(1975–83); commissioner, Royal Hospital, Chelsea (1974–80). Kendrew died on 28 February 1989 at Islip, Northamptonshire.

Awards and decorations

* Knight Commander of Order of St Michael and St George (12 July 1963) *

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 caregi ...

(1 January 1958 –

New Year's Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

1958) *

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 ...

(21 December 1944 (Italy)) *

and Three Bars (1 June 1943 (North Africa), 13 January 1944 (Italy), 4 May 1944 (Italy) and 8 December 1953 (Korea)) *

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

(23 September 1943 (North Africa)) * Honorary LLD from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

(1969) * Knight of the Order of St John (June 1964)

Tribute

In April 2012, the former RAF Cottesmore in Rutland was renamed Kendrew Barracks after him."Cottesmore Army base named as Kendrew Barracks"
''Stamford Mercury'', 23 April 2012

References

External links

The Constitutional Centre of Western Australia
Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrew, Douglas 1910 births 1989 deaths Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Army rugby union players British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Korean War British Army brigadiers of World War II British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath England international rugby union players Governors of Western Australia Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights of the Order of St John Leicester Tigers players People educated at Uppingham School Military personnel from Barnstaple Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Rugby union players from Barnstaple Rugby union props English rugby union players 20th-century English sportsmen