Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley of West Hoathly (7 May 1899 – 6 October 1976) 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, businessman, banker. His father was businessman

Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley (21 November 1871 – 20 July 1954) was an English businessman, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public servant who organised the National Savings movement. Background Kindersley was born ...

GBE.

Early years

Kindersley was born in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, to Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley, GBE (1871-1954), and Gladys Margaret Beadle. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He married Nancy Farnsworth (daughter of Dr Geoffrey Boyd of Toronto) in October 1921: they had two daughters, Patricia, who married Napier Crookenden, Ginette and a son Robert, who succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Kindersley. Kindersley was managing director of Lazard Brothers, one of the three houses of

Lazard Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's lar ...

, from 1927 to 1964.

War service

Kindersley was commissioned into the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1917 and served 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 ...

. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1918. He rejoined as a lieutenant in the

Regular Army Reserve of Officers The Regular Reserve is the component of the military reserve of the British Armed Forces whose members have formerly served in the " Regular" (full-time professional) forces. (Other components of the Reserve are the Volunteer Reserves and the Sp ...

from 12 November 1938 and at the outbreak 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 ...

he rejoined the Scots Guards. He later commanded a tank battalion of the Scots Guards in the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier G ...

. He completed a parachute training course and qualified as a glider pilot. In May 1943, promoted to acting Brigadier, The Honourable Hugh Kindersley was 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

6th Airlanding Brigade 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. It was on his recommendation that Major

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

and D Company 2nd

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(the 52nd) were selected to lead the

coup de main A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...

operation at

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the cent ...

and

Horsa Bridge Horsa Bridge, also known as Ranville Bridge, over the Orne river, was, along with Pegasus Bridge, captured during Operation Tonga by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in a ''coup de main'' oper ...

before the Allied invasion of the Normandy beaches began. Kindersley commanded 6 Airlanding Brigade, part of

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being t ...

, during the Normandy landings on

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, 6 June 1944, landing at 03.30 hours with 6 Airborne divisional headquarters. He was later wounded during the Battle of Bréville, and evacuated to England. Brigadier Edwin Flavell replaced him as commanding officer of 6 Airlanding Brigade. Kindersley was appointed a Member 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 ...

(OBE) in 1941 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1945.

Post-war

Kindersley was Chairman of Lazard Brothers, one of the three houses of

, from 1953 until 1964 and a director from 1965 to 1971. During his service at Lazard Brothers, he was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

from March 1947 to March 1967, Chairman of

Royal Exchange Assurance The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London. Origins The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpr ...

from 1955 to 1967, and Chairman of

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

from 1956 to 1968. He was one of the figures who, as both a Bank of England director and a financier with private interests, was suspected of having taken advantage of advance warning of a change in

Bank Rate Bank rate, also known as discount rate in American English, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on its loans and advances to a commercial bank. The bank rate is known by a number of different terms depending on the country, and ...

to sell

gilt-edged securities Gilt-edged securities are bonds issued by the UK Government. The term is of British origin, and then referred to the debt securities issued by the Bank of England on behalf of His Majesty's Treasury, whose paper certificates had a gilt (or gil ...

ahead of the public announcement of the rate change. A

judicial inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...

was held to investigate these allegations in 1957, to which he gave evidence. Although subjected to intensive and aggressive questioning by the Solicitor General

Reginald Manningham-Buller Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne, (1 August 1905 – 7 September 1980), known as Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Bt, from 1954 to 1962 and as The Lord Dilhorne from 1962 to 1964, was an English lawyer and Conservative pol ...

during the proceedings, he was fully exonerated in Lord Justice Parker's subsequent report in what journalists at the time suspected of a

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

.David Kynaston, ''Till Time's Last Stand: A History of The Bank of England, 1694-2013'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, pp. 434-5 Kindersley was chairman of the Officers Association from 1946 to 1956, Honorary Colonel of 10th Parachute Battalion from 1947 to 1952 and High Sheriff of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in 1951. He succeeded his father as second baron in 1954. He was appointed Commander, Royal

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

of Norway in 1958. He also served as chairman,

Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, also known as the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB), is a body established to set the pay of Physician, doctors and dentists in the National Health Service. The Review Body invites ...

, 1962-1970 and as chairman, Arthritis and Rheumatism Council. He lived in

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

, near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley died at Tonbridge, Kent on 6 October 1976 and he was succeeded in the barony by his son, Robert Hugh Molesworth Kindersley.

Awards and decorations

* Commander of the

(1 February 1945; previously Member, 1 January 1941) *

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(15 February 1919) * Commander of the

(Norway, 1958) * Honorary

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, in ...

(1959) * Member, Court of Patrons,

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

(1960) * Royal College of Surgeons Honorary Gold Medal (1975) Citation for the Military Cross:

For great gallantry and able leadership during 11, 12 and 13 October 1918. When sent by night to support the advance to the railway line west of St. Python, his platoon captured an obstinately defended machinegun post. Next morning, when leading two platoons in the western and southern half of the village, he handled the house to house fighting admirably. The ground was won and held with few casualties largely through his work. His gallant conduct was a fine example to all ranks.

References

* Who Was Who Volume V11 1971-1980 (1981), Pegasus Bridge Stephen Ambrose (1984), Go To It! The Illustrated History of 6th Airborne Division Peter Harclerode (2000), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Vol 31 (2004) and Burke's Peerage Baronetage and Knightage Vol 11 (2003).

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindersley, Hugh Kindersley, 2nd Baron 1899 births 1976 deaths People educated at Eton College People from Knightsbridge Scots Guards officers Recipients of the Military Cross English bankers Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I High Sheriffs of the County of London British Army brigadiers of World War II

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

20th-century English businesspeople Military personnel from London Order of Saint Olav