|
Gerald Gartlan
Major-General Gerald Ion Gartlan (24 June 1889 – 15 July 1975) was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War and the Second World War. Military career Born in County Down in what is now Northern Ireland, in June 1889, Gartlan was educated at Downside School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles (later the Royal Ulster Rifles) in 1909. He was promoted to lieutenant in November 1910. He saw service during the First World War, mainly as a staff officer on the Western Front, and, after being awarded with the Military Cross (MC), he was later appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for his service during the Upper Silesia plebiscite. He was promoted to captain in September 1915. After attending Staff College, Camberley from 1924 to 1925, he became commander of the regimental depot of the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1929. He went on to be commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest. In the east of the county is Strangford Lough and the Ards Peninsula. The largest town is Bangor, on the northeast coast. Three other large towns and cities are on its border: Newry lies on the western border with County Armagh, while Lisburn and Belfast lie on the northern border with County Antrim. Down contains both the southernmost point of Northern Ireland ( Cranfield Point) and the easternmost point of Ireland ( Burr Point). It was one of two counties of Northern Ireland to have a Protestant majority at the 2001 census. The other Protestant majority County is County Antrim to the north. In March 2018, ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Officer (armed Forces)
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextual qualification, the term typically refers only to a force's ''commissioned officers'', the more senior members who derive their authority from a commission from the head of state. Numbers The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13.7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, and about 17.2% of the United States armed forces. Historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers (partly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographic territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the military, and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are large stretches of countryside, including the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and Peak District national parks. Yorkshire has been nicknamed "God's Own Country" or "God's Own County" by its i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allies of World War II, Allied soldiers during the World War II, Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of French Third Republic, France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian Armed Forces, Belgian, British Army, British, and French Army, French troops were cut off and surrounded by German Army (1935–1945), German troops during the six-week Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of delive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the name of the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War. The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas. General Lord Gort was appointed to the command of the BEF on 3 September 1939 and the BEF began moving to France on 4 September 1939. The BEF assembled along the Belgian–French border. The BEF took their post to the left of the French First Army under the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigadier (United Kingdom)
Brigadier (Brig) is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. Brigadier is the superior rank to colonel, and subordinate to major-general. It corresponds to the rank of brigadier general in many other nations. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-6, placing it equivalent to the Royal Navy commodore and the Royal Air Force air commodore ranks and the brigadier general (1-star general) rank of the United States military and numerous other NATO nations. Insignia The rank insignia for a brigadier is a St Edward's Crown over three "pips" ( "Bath" stars). The rank insignia for a brigadier-general was crossed sword and baton. Usage Brigadier was originally an appointment conferred on colonels (as commodore was an appointment conferred on naval captains) rather than a substantive rank. However, from 1 November 1947 it became a substantive rank in the British Army. The Royal Marines, however, retained it as an acting rank until 1997, when both commodore and brigadie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interwar Period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relatively short, yet featured many significant social, political, and economic changes throughout the world. Petroleum-based energy production and associated mechanisation led to the prosperous Roaring Twenties, a time of both social mobility and economic mobility for the middle class. Automobiles, electric lighting, radio, and more became common among populations in the developed world. The indulgences of the era subsequently were followed by the Great Depression, an unprecedented worldwide economic downturn that severely damaged many of the world's largest economies. Politically, the era coincided with the rise of communism, starting in Russia with the October Revolution and Russian Civil War, at the end of World War I, and ended with the ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal College Of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level, to prepare them for the top posts in their respective services. It forms part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and is its most senior and prestigious component. In addition, there are many overseas attendees, from countries who are close allies of the United Kingdom. History In 1922, a cabinet committee under Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, recommended the formation of the College. The college was founded in 1927 as the Imperial Defence College and was located at 9 Buckingham Gate until 1939. Its objective at that time was to instruct senior military officers the defence of the British Empire. In 1946, following the end of World War II, the college reopened at Seaford House, Belgrave Square a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 in 1802 became the Senior Department of the new Royal Military College. In 1858 the name of the Senior Department was changed to "Staff College", and in 1870 this was separated from the Royal Military College. Apart from periods of closure during major wars, the Staff College continued to operate until 1997, when it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College. The equivalent in the Royal Navy was the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich, and the equivalent in the Royal Air Force was the RAF Staff College, Bracknell. Origins In 1799, Colonel John Le Marchant submitted a proposal to the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, for a Royal Military College. A private officer training school, based on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain (British Army And Royal Marines)
Captain (Capt) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. The rank of captain in the Royal Navy is considerably more senior (equivalent to the Army/RM rank of colonel) and the two ranks should not be confused. In the 21st-century British Army, captains are often appointed to be second-in-command (2IC) of a company or equivalent sized unit of up to 120 soldiers. History A rank of second captain existed in the Ordnance at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the junior officer rank of captain. RAF captains had a rank insignia based on the two bands of a naval lieutenant with the addition of an eagle and crown above the bands. It was superseded by the rank of flight lieutenant on the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upper Silesia Plebiscite
The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with both Germans and Poles; according to prewar statistics, ethnic Poles formed 60 percent of the population. Under the previous rule by the German Empire, Poles claimed they had faced discrimination, making them effectively second class citizens. The period of the plebiscite campaign and inter- Allied occupation was marked by violence. There were three Polish uprisings, and German volunteer paramilitary units came to the region as well. The area was policed by French, British, and Italian troops, and overseen by an Inter-Allied Commission. The Allies planned a partition of the region, but a Polish insurgency took control of over half the area. The Germans responded with volunteer paramilitary units from all over Germany, which fought the Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
