Major General Sir John Raynsford Longley (7 March 1867 – 13 February 1953) 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 reached high command during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military career

Educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

,Major General Sir John Raynsford Longley KCMG CB 1920–39
Queen's Royal Surreys website Longley was commissioned into the 4th (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

in April 1885 before transferring over to the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

two years later. He served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

in January 1890 and, promoted in March 1895 to captain, he was seconded for service in South Africa in 1902, towards the end of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. He was promoted to major in July 1904. In June 1911 Longley was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed

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 ...

(CO) of the 1st Battalion, East Surreys. He went to France at the head of his battalion in August 1914 at the start of

, fighting in the battles of

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, Le Cateau,

the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by occ ...

, the Aisne,

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace Franç ...

and

Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fi� ...

. In January 1915, after being promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general, he was appointed commander of the 27th Division's 82nd Infantry Brigade in succession to Brigadier General

Lionel Stopford Colonel Sir Lionel Arthur Montagu Stopford (10 May 1860 – 13 September 1942) was a British Army officer who became Commandant of the Royal Military College Sandhurst. Military career Son of Vice-Admiral The Hon. Sir Montagu Stopford, ...

. In February he was promoted to brevet colonel and in June his substantive rank was advanced from brevet colonel to colonel but with seniority dating back to December 1914. The brigade, together with the rest of the 27th Division, was sent to the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

towards the end of the year. In December, after being promoted to the temporary rank of major general, he became 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

10th (Irish) Division The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions (formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. It included ba ...

, which, like the 27th, was also serving in Macedonia as part of the

British Salonika Army The British Salonika Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I. After the armistice in November 1918, it was disbanded, but component units became the newly formed Army of the Black Sea, and General Milne remained in command. Fi ...

. He retained command of this division until 1919, serving in Salonika, before moving to join the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

(EEF) in September 1917 where the division was part of XX Corps in its advance into Palestine. He was awarded the Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in June 1918. In July 1919, and with the war now over, Longley became the first GOC of the

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex ...

, a TF formation, before retiring from the army in 1923. From September 1920 to 1939 Longley, whose rank of major general became substantive in January 1918, held the colonelcy of the East Surrey Regiment, taking over from General Sir George Greaves. Recalled at the start of 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 ...

in September 1939, he was re-employed as a brigadier in the Dover Garrison. He died on 13 February 1953, at the age of 85. The East Surrey Regimental chapel in

All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames All Saints Church is the historic parish church of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, and is set between the ancient Market Place and the main shopping centre. It forms part of the Diocese of Southwark and together with the St John's Churc ...

, Surrey, has a memorial plaque to Longley and a stained glass window to the memory of both Longley and his son, killed in 1916 at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

.Memorials within the Chapels
Queen's Royal Surreys website

Honours and awards

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Longley, John 1867 births 1953 deaths Surrey Militia officers British Army generals of World War I East Surrey Regiment officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People educated at Cheltenham College Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus British Army major generals British Army brigadiers of World War II Military personnel from Cheltenham