John Yeldham Whitfield

Major General John Yeldham Whitfield CB, DSO & Bar, OBE (11 October 1899 – 23 September 1971) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 56th (London) Infantry Division during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War and later the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division.

John Yeldham Whitfield
Born(1899-10-11)11 October 1899
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
Died23 September 1971(1971-09-23) (aged 71)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1918–1955
RankMajor General
Service number26601
UnitQueen's Royal Regiment
Commands held2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment
15th Infantry Brigade
56th (London) Infantry Division
50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order & Bar
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in despatches
Legion of Merit (United States)
Order of the Red Star (USSR)

Military career

Educated at Monmouth School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Whitfield was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Queen's Royal Regiment, British Army, on 20 December 1918.[1][2]

Unable to see service in the First World War, he continued to serve in the army during the interwar period, where he remained in both East and West Africa for many years, serving with the Royal West African Frontier Force.[2] Returning to England, he attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1932 to 1933 and, married in 1936, he was a brigade major with the King's African Rifles from 1937 to 1939.[2]

He returned to England in 1942 during the Second World War, where he became Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment in July, leading the battalion in Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Libya and in the final stages of the Tunisian Campaign in late April 1943.[2]

Whitfield was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East", on 19 August.[3] He then led the battalion in many battles in the Italian Campaign, including in the Allied invasion of Italy in September, followed by the capture of Naples, the crossing of the Volturno Line, both in October, and, fighting in front of the Bernhardt Line, part of the Winter Line, the Battle for Monte la Difensa in December.[4] He briefly commanded the 169th (Queens) Infantry Brigade, his battalion's parent formation, in October and November 1943. In January 1944 he took command of the 15th Infantry Brigade, commanding the brigade in the First Battle of Monte Cassino, later taking part in the Battle of Anzio. He briefly served as a Brigadier on the General Staff of V Corps. In July he became the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 56th (London) Infantry Division, rising from battalion to divisional command in the space of six months. He led the division in the attack on the Gothic Line in the latter half of 1944 and the offensive in Italy in April 1945.[4][2]

The 56th Division was deactivated in Austria after the war and Whitfield subsequently became GOC 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and Northumbrian District in October 1946, chief of staff at Northern Command in January 1948[5] and Inspector of Recruiting at the War Office in 1951 before he finally retired from the army in 1955.[4][2]

References

  1. "No. 31140". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 January 1919. p. 1184.
  2. Smart, p. 333
  3. "No. 36138". The London Gazette. 17 August 1943. p. 3721.
  4. "Major-General J Y Whitfield, CB, DSO, OBE". Queen's Royal Surreys. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. "Senior Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

Bibliography

  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 1-84415-049-6.
Military offices
Preceded by
Gerald Templer
GOC 56th (London) Infantry Division
1944–1946
Succeeded by
Gerald Lloyd-Verney
Preceded by
John Churcher
GOC 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
1946–1948
Succeeded by
Charles Loewen
Preceded by
Sir George Giffard
Colonel of the 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot
1954–1959
Succeeded by
Post disbanded
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