Major General Gerald Harry George Lloyd-Verney, (10 July 1900 – 3 April 1957) 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 commanded the 7th Armoured Division ("The Desert Rats") during 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 ...

. He changed his name by

Deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

from Gerald Lloyd Verney to Gerald Lloyd-Verney in 1941.

Early life

Verney was the son of Sir Harry Lloyd Verney and Lady Joan Elizabeth Mary Cuffe. Educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, Verney was

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

between 1914 and 1917.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

Military career

Verney was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

in 1919. He became Aide-de-camp to the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

in 1928 and then, after attending 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, transferred to the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

in 1939.

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU769

Verney served in the

as instructor at the Staff College in 1940 before becoming

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 2nd Battalion Irish Guards during its conversion to tanks in the United Kingdom later that year. He was appointed commander of the 32nd Guards Brigade in the United Kingdom in 1942, commander of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade in the United Kingdom (before being deployed to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

) in January 1943 and

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 ...

7th Armoured Division in North West Europe in August 1944. He was personally appointed by

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

to the 7th Armoured Division. He went on to be commander of the 1st Guards Brigade in Italy and Austria from 1944 to 1945 when he became Military Commander in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding 56th (London) Armoured Division in 1946 before retiring in 1948.

Personal life

In 1926 Verney married the Hon Joyce Sybil Vivian Smith, daughter of

Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester Vivian Hugh Smith, 1st Baron Bicester (9 December 1867 – 17 February 1956), was a British merchant banker. Early life Vivian Hugh Smith was born on 9 December 1867. He was the elder son of Hugh Colin Smith (son of John Abel Smith and Gove ...

, and together they had two children: *

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 ...

Peter Vivian Lloyd-Verney (19 December 1930 – 12 October 2019), an Irish Guards officer who married first Caroline Evelyn Harford, daughter of George Anthony Harford, descendant of

John Scandrett Harford John Scandrett Harford, FRS (8 October 1785 – 16 April 1866) was a British banker, benefactor and abolitionist. Early life and background Harford was the son of John Scandrett Harford, a prominent banker in Bristol. By the end of the 18th c ...

of Blaise Castle, and Margaret Hotham (daughter of Admiral Sir Charles Frederick Hotham). They had three children together and divorced in 1982. He then married Elizabeth Anne Burke in 1983, daughter of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Harry St. George Burke, of the Burkes of Clondagoff Castle,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, and Evelyn Marjorie Stringer. * Bridget Mary Lloyd-Verney, who married Michael Barry Sarson, son of

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 ...

Maurice John Sarson, on 20 October 1951 and had four children. Lloyd-Verney died on 3 April 1957 at

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 2,008 at the 2022 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ...

, Ireland, aged 56.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd-Verney, Gerald 1900 births 1957 deaths British Army generals of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Grenadier Guards officers Irish Guards officers Members of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Eton College British Army major generals Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Kensington War Office personnel in World War II British Army brigadiers of World War II Academics of the Staff College, Camberley