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 Charles Frederic Keightley, (24 June 1901 – 17 June 1974) was a senior

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 served during and following 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 ...

. After serving with distinction during the Second World War – becoming, in 1944, the youngest corps commander in the British Army – he had a distinguished postwar career and was the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

from 1958 to 1962. Since Keightley's death, there has been much scrutiny of the methods he employed in 1945 to send thousands of Cossacks and White Russians to their death at the hands of Stalin.

Early life and military career

Keightley was born on 24 June 1901 at

Anerley Anerley () is suburb of south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south south-east of Charing Cross, to the south of Upper Norwood, west of Penge, north of Elmers End and east of South Norwood. The northe ...

near

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, the only surviving son of Rev. Charles Albert Keightley, the local vicar, and his wife, Kathleen Ross. His early education was at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

. He 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 ...

, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1921 into the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) which through amalgamation with the

6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became ...

became the 5th/6th Dragoons the following year, and later the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

. He was promoted

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 ...

at the end of 1923 and

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 April 1932, having served three years as the regiment's adjutant. He 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 1935 to 1936, and after a staff posting was in October 1937 appointed 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 ...

of a mechanised cavalry brigade in Egypt. He was able, however, in November to take part in the coronation of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in London as a member of the procession accompanying the King and Queen. In September 1938 his brigade became part of the new Mobile Division in Egypt commanded by the influential

Percy Hobart Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...

. Keightley was able to benefit from Hobart's tutelage for only a brief period and, having been promoted to the rank of

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 ...

, he was appointed in December 1938 to be an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley. Accompanying his new position was another promotion, this time to the local rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Second World War

In 1940, during the

, he was appointed as Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General (chief administrative officer) of the 1st Armoured Division, then commanded by Major-General Roger Evans, during that division's deployment to France. After the evacuation from France the division reformed back in England. On 13 May 1941, Keightley, on promotion to the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows military personnel to assume a higher military rank, which is usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the natu ...

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 ...

, was given command of the

30th Armoured Brigade The 30th Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation of the British Army that served in Western Front (World War II)#1944–1945: The Second Front, Western Europe Campaign as part of the 79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom), 79th Armoured Divis ...

, part of the

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armour ...

, which by this time was commanded by Major-General

, his former mentor. 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 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 July 1941. In late December 1941 he was promoted to acting major-general to become Commandant of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

Training Establishment. After only five months in this job he was briefly given command on 21 April 1942 of the

, which was then based in the United Kingdom and then on 19 May 1942 went to command the 6th Armoured Division and led it with distinction throughout the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

, elements landing in

French North Africa French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...

in November as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

. He was made 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 caregi ...

for his services in Tunisia and also was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

by the United States government. His permanent rank was advanced from major to lieutenant colonel in September 1943 and again to colonel in April 1944. Keightley near Cassino NA 13591

In December 1943 he exchanged commands with Major-General

Vyvyan Evelegh Major General Vyvyan Evelegh, (14 December 1898 – 27 August 1958) was a senior officer of the British Army during the Second World War, commanding the 78th Infantry Division (otherwise known as the Battleaxe Division) and the 6th Armoured D ...

, 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 ...

(GOC) of the 78th Infantry Division, which had fought alongside the 6th Armoured in Tunisia was then serving in Italy, and which became his first infantry command. He 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 ...

in August 1944 and his success as a commander of both armoured and infantry divisions led to his promotion in August 1944 to acting

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 normall ...

when he was given command of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, succeeding Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey, in Italy. At the age of 43 he was the youngest officer in the

British Army during the Second World War At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its en ...

to command a corps in action.

Toby Low Brigadier Toby Austin Richard William Low, 1st Baron Aldington, Baron Low, (25 May 1914 – 7 December 2000), known as Austin Richard William Low until he added "Toby" as a forename by deed poll on 10 July 1957, was a British Conservative Part ...

, the youngest brigadier in the British Army, was Keightley's Brigadier General Staff (BGS). He commanded this corps during ''

Operation Olive The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

'', the offensive on the Gothic Line in the autumn of 1944, and also during the final spring offensive in April 1945, when it took a lead role in forcing the Argenta Gap. The corps moved into

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

with the surrender of the German Forces and forces that were fighting on the German side. On 8 May 1945, he signed a demarcation agreement with the Bulgarian First Army commander, General

Vladimir Stoychev Vladimir Dimitrov Stoychev (, 24 March 1892 – 27 April 1990) was a Bulgarian Colonel General, diplomat, and Olympic equestrian. Biography Vladimir Stoychev was born in Sofia, the capital of the Principality of Bulgaria. He graduated from the Th ...

in Klagenfurt. In

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

, Keightley's army received the surrender of the " Lienz Cossacks" under their leaders Peter Krasnov, Kelech Ghirey, and

Andrei Shkuro Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro (; ; – 17 January 1947) was a Russian military officer of Cossack origin. He was a lieutenant general (1919) of the White Army, and later a Nazi collaborator. Biography Early life He was born in the ''stanitsa'' ...

and the

XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps The XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps was a World War II cavalry corps of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party, primarily recruited from Cossacks. It was originally known as the XIV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps from September 1944, after ...

under

Helmuth von Pannwitz Helmuth von Pannwitz (14 October 1898 – 16 January 1947) was a German general who was a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars. Later he became a Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht, a SS-Gruppenführer of the Waffen-SS, a ...

. At the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

, the British committed themselves to return Soviet citizens to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. After consultation with

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

Keightley proceeded to hand over these prisoners and their families regardless of their nationality, including people with French, German, Yugoslav or

Nansen passport Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees to stateles ...

s. The prisoners were delivered by deceit and force to

SMERSH SMERSH () was an umbrella organization for three independent counter-intelligence agencies in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially announced only on 14 April 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin. The form ...

Judenburg Judenburg (; ) is a historic town in Styria, Austria. It is the administrative centre of the Murtal District, Murtal district, which was created on 1 January 2012 from the former Judenburg (district), Judenburg District and former Knittelfeld D ...

; many were executed immediately, the remainder sent to the

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

. According to

Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (; born 23 June 1935), better known as Count Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British historian and writer. He is a former parliamentary candidate of the UK Independence Party and is the current nominal hea ...

’s ''Stalin's Vengeance'' (2021) In mid-1945, Keightley was appointed

Knight 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 ...

and nominated to lead a proposed "

Commonwealth Corps The Commonwealth Corps was the name given to a proposed British Commonwealth army formation, which was scheduled to take part in the planned Allied invasion of Japan during 1945 and 1946. The corps was never formed, however, as the Japanese sur ...

" during Operation Coronet, the second stage of

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...

the plan for the invasion of Japan. The corps was to have been made up of infantry divisions from the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, British and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

armies. The Australian government objected to the appointment of an officer with no experience fighting the Japanese and the war ended before the details of the corps were finalised.

Post-war

Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany

In 1946, Keightley left Austria and reverted to his permanent rank of major-general (to which he had received promotion in February 1945), to become Director of Military Training at the War Office. In 1948, he became the Military Secretary to

Manny Shinwell Emanuel Shinwell, Baron Shinwell, (18 October 1884 – 8 May 1986) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he served as a Member of ...

, then the

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

, gaining the permanent rank of lieutenant-general. On 21 September 1949, he became Commander-in-chief (C-in-C) 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 ...

(BAOR) in Germany relinquishing the role in April 1951. He was appointed 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 ...

during his time in the post. In May 1951, he became the C-in-C

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded b ...

in the rank of general. In September 1953, he was appointed C-in-C

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

. Also in 1953 Keightley received the honorary appointment of

Aide-de-camp general Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post- ...

to the Queen for a three-year tenure. His tenure at Middle East Land Forces included the period of the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

and Keightley was C-in-C of Operation Musketeer in 1956. For his services during the period October to December 1956 he was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

and also received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(Grand Officer) from the French government. In January 1957 he relinquished his Middle East Command and retired from the army that August. From 23 November 1947 to 23 November 1957, he held the honorary post of Colonel of the

. He also held the honorary post of Colonel Commandant,

, Cavalry Wing until April 1968. In retirement Keightley was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, a post he held from May 1958 until October 1962 when he retired from the army a second time since his role as Commander-in-Chief, although not paid for out of the army's budget, had technically returned him to active duty. From 1958 he served a term as Honorary Colonel of the

Royal Gibraltar Regiment The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which historically, along with Bermuda, Halifax, Nova Scotia (prior to the 1867 Confederation of Canada), and Malta, had been d ...

. From 1963 he was appointed Member of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation. He died in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Wiltshire, at Salisbury General Infirmary on 17 June 1974, a week before his seventy-third birthday.

Family

Keightley was married to Joan Lydia Smyth-Osbourne of Iddlesleigh in Devon in 1932. They had two sons, of which

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

was also a senior army officer, becoming Commandant of Sandhurst.

Recognition

Keightley Way, a road and tunnel in Gibraltar was named in his honour.

Publications

* published in

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Keightley, Charles 1901 births 1974 deaths British Army generals of World War II British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy lieutenants of Dorset Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Legion of Merit Governors of Gibraltar 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Officers of the Legion of Merit People educated at Marlborough College 5th Dragoon Guards officers People from Croydon Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from the London Borough of Croydon