Major General Francis Neville Mitchell, (1904 – 15 September 1954) was a

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 ...

officer who commanded the 6th Armoured Division from 1953 until his death in 1954.

Military career

Born the eldest son of Admiral Francis Mitchell and a cousin of Patrick Mitchell, Mitchell graduated from 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 ...

and was commissioned into the

15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was a ...

in 1924. Mitchell 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 ...

as an instructor at 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 1940, as a General Staff Officer with the 9th Armoured Division from 1941 and as

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 give ...

of the 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars from 1942. He was appointed commander of the 26th Armoured Brigade in Italy in 1944, and Assistant Deputy Adjutant-General at

Allied Forces Headquarters Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) was the headquarters that controlled all Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean theatre of World War II from August 1942 until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. History AFHQ was established i ...

in 1945. At the end of the war he was appointed a

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 ...

. Mitchell went on to be commander of the 22nd Armoured Brigade in 1947, Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps for 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 ...

in 1949 and Chief of Staff for I (British) Corps in Germany in 1951. His last appointment was as

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 ...

6th Armoured Division in 1953 before his sudden death in a horse riding accident in Germany in 1954.

Family

In 1935 Mitchell married Ann Christian Livingstone-Learmouth. Their daughter Mona served as Private Secretary to

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family and the only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and ...

, from 1974 until 1991, and was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

on retirement."Mitchell, Dame Mona (Ann)"
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2007). Retrieved 2 July 2019. Francis Mitchell's grandfather, Colonel Herbert Leonard Mitchell, married Mary Arabella Susan Reynolds, the niece of Major General John William Reynolds and the granddaughter of General Charles Reynolds. His brother Lieutenant Commander David Reynolds Mitchell was killed one week before the end of the Second World War. He was the cousin of Major Douglas Reynolds, a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient.England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Francis 1904 births 1954 deaths British Army major generals 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Academics of the Staff College, Camberley British Army brigadiers of World War II Deaths by horse-riding accident in Germany