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 ...

Francis Neville Mitchell, (1904 – 15 September 1954) 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 who commanded the 6th Armoured Division from 1953 until his death in 1954.

Military career

Born the eldest son of Admiral

Francis Mitchell Francis Mitchell (c. 1556 – died in or after 1628) was the last English knight of the realm to be publicly degraded (stripped of his knighthood), after being found guilty of extorting money from licensees following his being granted monopol ...

and a cousin of Patrick Mitchell, Mitchell graduated 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 ...

and was commissioned into the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars in 1924. Mitchell served in 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 ...

as an instructor 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 1940, as a General Staff Officer with the 9th Armoured Division from 1941 and as

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 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars from 1942. He was appointed commander of the 26th Armoured Brigade in Italy in 1944, and Assistant Deputy Adjutant-General at

Allied Forces Headquarters Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) was the headquarters that controlled all Allies of World War II, Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean theatre of World War II from August 1942 unti ...

in 1945. At the end of the war he was appointed a

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 o ...

. Mitchell went on to be commander of the 22nd Armoured Brigade in 1947, Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps for the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

in 1949 and Chief of Staff for I (British) Corps in Germany in 1951. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding 6th Armoured Division in 1953 before his sudden death in a horse riding accident in Germany in 1954.

Family

In 1935 Mitchell married Ann Christian Livingstone-Learmouth. Their daughter Mona served as

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George ...

, from 1974 until 1991, and was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

on retirement."Mitchell, Dame Mona (Ann)"
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2007). Retrieved 2 July 2019. Francis Mitchell's grandfather, Colonel Herbert Leonard Mitchell, married Mary Arabella Susan Reynolds, the niece of Major General

John William Reynolds 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 ...

and the granddaughter of General Charles Reynolds. His brother Lieutenant Commander David Reynolds Mitchell was killed one week before the end of the Second World War. He was the cousin of Major

Douglas Reynolds Douglas Reynolds VC (20 September 1882 – 23 February 1916) 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 British and Commonwealth force ...

, a

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 ...

recipient.England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Francis 1904 births 1954 deaths British Army major generals 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deaths in West Germany Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Academics of the Staff College, Camberley British Army brigadiers of World War II Deaths by horse-riding accident