Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Dudley Graham Johnson, (13 February 1884 – 21 December 1975) 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 and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Military career

The British Expeditionary Force (bef) in France 1939-1940 O812

Johnson served with the

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He transferred to the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

upon graduating from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

in 1903. He was 34 years old, and an acting

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in the South Wales Borderers,

, commanding the 2nd Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

during 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 ...

when the following deed took place at the Sambre Canal, France for which he was awarded the VC. Between the wars 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 i ...

from 1923 to 1924 and held a number of instruction and staff posts before being appointed

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) 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 given wide latitu ...

of the 2nd Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

in 1928. He commanded the 12th (Secunderbad) Infantry Brigade in 1933 and became General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 4th Division from 1938 to 1940. He was replaced as divisional commander after the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on ...

in June 1940 and made GOC

Aldershot Command Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

later on in 1940 before becoming Inspector of Infantry in 1941. He retired in 1944 and was Colonel of the South Wales Borderers from 1944 to 1949. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the South Wales Borderers Museum, Brecon, Powys, Wales.

Family

He was married to Marjorie Grisewood, who died in 1950. They had one son and two daughters and, after his wife's death, spent the last 25 years of his life a widower.

References

Bibliography

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Hampshire)''

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dudley Graham 1884 births 1975 deaths South Wales Borderers officers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath People from Bourton-on-the-Water Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Bradfield College Wiltshire Regiment officers North Staffordshire Regiment officers British Army major generals Burials in Hampshire War Office personnel in World War II Military personnel from Gloucestershire