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 Kenneth Thomas Darling (17 September 1909 – 31 October 1998) 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 after serving with distinction 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 ...

was Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate command (military formation), Command of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war ...

1967–69.

Early life

Darling was born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, the eldest son of George Kenneth Darling (1879–1964) of the Indian Civil Service and his wife Mabel Eleanor, née Burgess (d. 1952). His younger brother, the future Major General Douglas Darling (1914–1978), was also to become a distinguished soldier.

Military career

Upon being sent to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Kenneth Darling 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 ...

and 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 ...

, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

on 29 August 1929. He served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, in the United Kingdom, before serving with the 1st Battalion in India for eight years, from 1930 to 1938. 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 29 August 1932, 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 ...

on 1 August 1938. Soon after the outbreak of

World War II 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 Darling returned to the United Kingdom where, from January−April 1940 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 ...

as a student, and after graduating he was made 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 ...

with the 1st London Brigade, part of the

1st London Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War ...

. Serving briefly as a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, he was an instructor at the

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment formed in 1916 by Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General R. J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-ser ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, from January−October 1941, before returning to the War Office for eight months as GSO1 Military Training. From June 1942 he was

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 11th Battalion,

. He commanded the battalion, a second line Territorial Army which formed part of the 140th Brigade, itself part of the

47th (London) Infantry Division The 47th (London) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and remained in the United Kingdom until the end of the war. In March 1939, after the re-emergenc ...

. He served in North West Europe during 1944 and 1945 and 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 ...

on 7 June 1945 while serving with the 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion, initially as its

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

and then as its

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 ...

. He became

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

5th Parachute Brigade The 5th Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces formation of brigade strength, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. Created during 1943, the brigade was assigned to the 6th Airborne Division, serving alongside the 3rd Parachut ...

in 1946, then serving in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

during the Palestine Emergency, of the Airborne Forces Depot in 1948 and of the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade in 1950. He was Chief of Staff of I (British) Corps from 1955,

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 ...

II Corps from 1956 and then Deputy Director, Staff Duties at the

from 1957. He went on to be General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations Cyprus District in 1958, Director of Infantry in 1960 and

I (British) Corps in 1962. His last appointments were as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Southern Command in 1964 and Commander in Chief of

from 1967 until his retirement in 1969. Darling KT BluePlaque Chesterton VicarageFarmhouse

Darling was appointed a

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 ...

in 1969,

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 ...

in 1963,

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 1957 and

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 ...

in 1957. He was Honorary Colonel of the

(City of London Regiment) from 1963 to 1968,

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the Parachute Regiment from 1965 to 1967, Honorary Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers from 1968 to 1974 and ADC General to the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

during 1968 and 1969. In 1941 Darling married Pamela Denison-Pender (1915–1990). His wife's sister, Cynthia, was married to the soldier and racing correspondent Roger Mortimer. Darling lived at Vicarage Farmhouse,

Chesterton, Oxfordshire Chesterton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on Gagle Brook, a tributary of the Langford Brook in north Oxfordshire. The village is about southwest of the market town of Bicester. The village has sometimes been called Gr ...

from 1958 until his death on 31 October 1998. An Oxfordshire Blue Plaque commemorating him was unveiled on his house on 4 July 2015.

References

Sources

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Kenneth 1909 births 1998 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of World War II British Parachute Regiment officers British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel of British India People educated at Eton College Royal Fusiliers officers War Office personnel in World War II British people in colonial India