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 ...

Ewing Henry Wrigley Grimshaw, (30 June 1911 – 1 November 2007) was a senior

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

and

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 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 ...

and achieved high office in the 1960s.

Early life

Grimshaw was born in India, the son of an army officer. He was educated at

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

before attending 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 ...

Military career

On 29 January 1931 Grimshaw commissioned into the

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamate ...

, garrisoned in India. He first saw active service in the

Waziristan campaign (1936–39) Waziristan campaign or Waziristan expedition may refer to: *Waziristan campaign (1919–20) *Waziristan campaign (1921–24) Waziristan campaign or Waziristan expedition may refer to: *Waziristan campaign (1919–20) Waziristan campaign or Waziris ...

and against terrorists in Bengal. In 1939 Grimshaw was serving with the 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment, and was posted with it to Iraq and Libya. He fought in the Western Desert campaign, during which he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

, before his unit was transferred to Burma in early 1943. By April 1944 Grimshaw was commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the

. On 18 April he was one of the first soldiers to enter Kohima Garrison, breaking the siege during the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June ...

. He was mentioned in despatches for a second time during the Burma campaign. In March 1945 he was promoted to brigadier and took command of the

161st Indian Infantry Brigade The 161st Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. As part of the arrangements for the independence and partition of British India the brigade was allocated to India and became the 161st Infa ...

, holding the position for a year. In June 1945 he was 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 ...

for services in Burma. In October 1947 Grimshaw transferred to the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

, and in 1948 he served with the regiment during the early stages of the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

. In 1952 he commanded the 1st Battalion of the regiment in the Canal Zone before leading the battalion during operations in the

Mau Mau uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...

in Kenya. At the conclusion of this tour, his battalion was awarded the Freedom of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, and as commanding officer he was made an

Officer 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 ...

. Grimshaw's next posting was to

HQ Northern Ireland HQ Northern Ireland was the formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve formation, 38 (Irish) Brigade, in 2009. History Ireland was ...

as chief of staff, but this posting was shortened by his appointment to command the 19th Infantry Brigade at four days notice. Grimshaw was deployed with the brigade to Egypt during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

of 1956, and he was the last British soldier to leave

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

, having handed over to the United Nations Force Commander. In 1957 he was advanced to

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 ...

. Grimshaw commanded the brigade in Cyprus in operations against

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA; ; el, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, lit=National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνο� ...

in 1958. This was followed by a staff appointment in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, after which he was promoted to major general. His final commanded was of the

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. ...

in 1962, which carried with it the appointment of Deputy Constable of Dover Castle. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1965, when he retired. Appointed on 1 September, between 1966 and 1968 he was Colonel of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

Personal life

In 1943 Grimshaw married Hilda Allison, who died in 1993. They had two sons and a daughter; his elder son, Colonel Ewing Grimshaw, died in 1996.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimshaw, Harry 1911 births 2007 deaths Military personnel of British India British Army major generals British Indian Army officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War II People educated at Brighton College Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers