General Roger Eustace Le Fleming (20 April 1895''UK, British Army Lists, 1882–1962'' – 9 May 1962) was an officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was born at

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 1895, the second son of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Ethel Le Fleming. Le Fleming was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

, where his father was an Army tutor, and joined

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 ...

in September 1913.Stokoe HR (1923) ''Tonbridge School and the Great War of 1914 to 1919'', pp. 200–203. London: The Whitefriars Press Ltd.Stokoe ''op. cit.'', p. 468.Steed HE (1911) ''The register of Tonbridge School from 1826 to 1910'', p. 200. London: Rivingtons.
Available online
Retrieved 2019-04-19.) He was commissioned onto the Unattached List of Indian Army in August 1914. He served in France and Belgium with a British Army regiment March to September 1915. He then joined his Indian Army unit, the 102nd Grenadiers in November 1915. He served in Mesopotamia between November 1915 and June 1917 and then in Palestine from December 1917 to November 1918. During the war he was wounded and earned the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. He served in Somaliland during the 1920 operations and was mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 29 November 1920. He was appointed an instructor at the Indian Military Academy from July 1932 to January 1936. He served on the North West Frontier 1936–37. He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel and commanding officer of the 2nd battalion,

4th Bombay Grenadiers The Grenadiers is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly part of the Bombay Army and later the pre-independence British Indian Army, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers. It has distinguished itself during the two ...

February 1938. He was appointed temporary Brigadier 1 August 1941. As part of Paiforce (formerly

Iraqforce Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II. Background During World War I, the British Army defeated the Otto ...

), Brigadier Le Fleming commanded the

24th Indian Infantry Brigade . The 24th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in February 1941, in India and at first assigned to the 10th Indian Infantry Division, and fought in the Anglo-I ...

attached to the Indian 8th Infantry Division during the

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The two powers announced that they wo ...

. After 11 September 1941, the

was attached to the Indian 6th Infantry Division. He was promoted Colonel as of 26 July 1943 with seniority from 14 February 1941. In December 1943 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 ...

for 'distinguished services in Persia and Iraq' as a temporary Brigadier, Indian Army. From 1944 to 1948 Le Fleming commanded the Waziristan District in India in the rank of Major-General. He was responsible for the implementation of Operation Curzon, the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani regular army troops from Waziristan after independence on 14 August 1947, a file of his personal papers are held by the National Army Museum, London. In June 1947 he was appointed a Companion 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 ...

as a Colonel (temporary Major-General), Indian Army. He retired from the Indian Army on 5 June 1948 a Colonel and was granted the honorary rank of Major-General.London Gazette 16 July 1948 & 30 July 1948 He died in 1962.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Fleming, Roger 1895 births 1962 deaths Indian Army generals of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Military Cross Indian Army personnel of World War I British Indian Army generals People from Tonbridge People educated at Tonbridge School

See also

References

External links