Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Noel Monson de la Poer Beresford-Peirse KBE, CB, DSO (22 December 1887 – 14 January 1953) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer.

Family background

Beresford-Peirse was the son of Colonel William John de la Poer Beresford-Peirse and Mary, daughter of Thomas Chambers of

Aberfoyle, County Londonderry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern ...

. He was educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...

and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

and commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Beresford-Peirse was great-grandson to Adm. John Beresford, and a cousin to the Beresford-Peirse baronets. He was married three times. The first marriage (in 1912) was to Hazel Marjorie, daughter of J.A. Cochrane,

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The marriage ended in divorce in 1924. The second marriage (in 1925) was to Jean, only child of

Surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

R.D. Jameson, CMG, RN. Jean died in 1926. In 1929 he married Katharine Camilla, daughter of Colonel

James Morris Colquhoun Colvin Colonel James Morris Colquhoun Colvin VC (26 August 1870 – 7 December 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of a B ...

, VC. All three marriages were childless.

Military career

Beresford-Peirse was commissioned into the

in 1907. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in, briefly,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in 1914 then

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

back to

and finally

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1918. After the First World War and after attendance at 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 i ...

from 1924 to 1925, until 1929, he performed a number of roles in the Royal Artillery in France and Britain. There were then staff and administrative posts in the UK until 1935. In 1937, Beresford-Peirse was posted to India for "special duties" and subsequently he served two years as an instructor at the

Senior Officers' School, Belgaum The Senior Officers' School, Belgaum was a British military establishment established in 1920 for the training of senior officers of all services based in India in inter-service cooperation. History The School was originally intended for senior ...

in India. He was Brigadier in the

, Southern India Command during 1939 and 1940 and Aide-de-Camp to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

in 1939 and 1940. At the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Beresford-Peirse was the Commander of Artillery for the Indian 4th Infantry Division, which at the time was based in

. He was promoted to command the division in August 1940Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> and led it in North Africa ( Operation ''Compass'') and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

(the East African Campaign). In March 1941 he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed via

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE)London Gazette 4 March 1941 and on 14 April 1941 he was given command of the

Western Desert Force The Western Desert Force (WDF) was a British Army formation (military), formation active in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of the World War II, Second World War. On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division (United ...

(later redesignated XIII Corps). He commanded the British forces in Sudan from October 1941 to April 1942 when he was put in command of the Indian XV Corps and then, from June 1942, the Southern Army in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

until 31 March 1945. Beresford-Peirse was Welfare General of the India Command between April 1945 and 1946. He retired on 13 June 1947, joining the Regular Army Reserve of Officers, and died in 1953.

Notes

References

External links

The Peerage Web Site
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford-Peirse, Noel 1887 births 1953 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Irish military personnel Royal Artillery officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Sudan Defence Force officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Beresford family