Major-General Sir John Hugh Bevil Acland, KCB, CBE, DL (26 November 1928 – 17 November 2006) was a senior British

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer.

Early life

Acland was born on 26 November 1928, the elder son of Peter Acland and Bridget Susan Acland (née Barnett). His younger brother Antony went on to become head of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service and British Ambassador in Washington. He was 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 ...

Military career

Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Acland was commissioned into the Scots Guards as a second lieutenant on 22 December 1948, with seniority from that date. He was given the service number 397794. 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 ...

on 22 December 1950. He fought in the Malayan Emergency. He was promoted to captain on 22 December 1954. With his regiment, he was involved in the Cyprus Emergency of 1957. Subsequently, he was nominated equerry to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, a post he held for the next two years. Acland attended Staff College, Camberley and was promoted to major on 22 December 1961. He then took part in the combats of the Mau Mau Uprising in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Following the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, he was appointed brigade major of 4th Guards Brigade in the British Army of the Rhine and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1967. He became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards in 1968 and led it in the Northern Ireland riots of August 1969. After the announcement of the battalion's possible disbandment, he spoke out against it in a letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', which prompted his senior general to suspend further promotion for a time. Acland was sent to desk work in the Ministry of Defence, responsible for the annual review of the number of major-generals' posts in the British Army. In 1976, he was finally promoted to brigadier and became commander of the land forces in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Two years later, he obtained command of the South West District as a major-general. With the end of the Rhodesian Bush War and the establishment of the Republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, Acland was selected commander of the Commonwealth Monitoring Force. His aide-de-camp during this period was Iain Duncan Smith, who would later go on to lead the Conservative Party and hold several cabinet roles. Acland retired from the Army in 1981.

Later life

After retiring from the military, Acland spent his time as director of Allied Vintners, then as chairman of the South West Working Party on Alcohol. Acland was president of The Royal British Legion Devon and sat on the Dartmoor National Park Authority. Having been previously Deputy Lieutenant from 1985, he was appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Devon in 1995.

Personal life

On 12 November 1953, he married the fashion model Myrtle Christian Euing Crawford, daughter of

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 ...

Alistair Wardrop Euing Crawford. They had a son and daughter.

Honours and decorations

In 1978, he was appointed

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 1980, he was appointed Knight Commander of

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 ...

. He was made honorary colonel of the Royal Devon Yeomanry in 1983 and was granted the same rank also of the Exeter University Officer's Training Corps in 1986 and of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in 1989.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, John Hugh Bevil 1928 births 2006 deaths John Hugh Bevil British Army major generals British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Mau Mau rebellion Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Scots Guards officers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley