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 ...

Sir Ivan de la Bere, (25 April 1893 – 27 December 1970) was a senior

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 played a prominent part in the Siege of Malta during 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 was later an official in the Royal Household.

Early life

Ivan de la Bere was born on 25 April 1893, the son of John de la Bere of Battledown Manor,

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, Gloucestershire. 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 Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.''Who Was Who 1961–1970''Obituary, ''Times'' 29 December 1970.

Military career

In 1913, de la Bere joined the

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

. During the First World War he served two spells of duty in France and Belgium in 1914–15 and 1915–16, including a period attached to the

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (wh ...

, and was wounded. In 1916 he was seconded in the rank of

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 ...

to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

.Gradation list, ''Annual Army List'' 1914–39. In January 1918 de la Bere received a special staff appointment as a Conducting Officer in France, escorting visitors to the armies, and became an Assistant Press Officer in May 1918, retaining that appointment in 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 ...

after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

. De la Bere then spent a number of years in staff positions 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 ...

, receiving promotion to major in 1931. In 1935 he returned to regimental duty in command of the Dorsets' regimental depot. Then in 1939 he was promoted to

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 colone ...

and took command of the 1st Battalion Dorsets. On the outbreak of the

they were stationed in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The Siege of Malta began on 11 June 1940, following Italy's entry into the war. The island was dependent on supply convoys fighting their way through from

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, and meanwhile, the garrison and people were subjected to some of the heaviest bombing of the war for a period of over two years. For its part, the island provided a base for air and sea attacks on supply convoys to the Italian and German forces fighting in North Africa. On 27 July 1941 de la Bere, by now a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

(promoted 27 July 1940), was placed in command of a new Central Infantry Brigade, formed by a brigade headquarters that had come out from the United Kingdom and by infantry battalions that had been brought in as reinforcements from Egypt. De la Bere was injured in November 1941, but returned to duty within three weeks, and commanded the brigade until the end of the war, ending as an acting major general. Central Brigade was redesignated 3rd (Malta) Infantry Brigade in 1942 and later became 233rd Infantry Brigade. During the siege de la Bere organised gifts and activities to maintain the morale of the civil population.Joslen.

Later career

De la Bere retired from the army with the rank of brigadier after the Second World War and in 1948 was appointed Secretary-General of the

Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, or simply the Central Chancery, is an office of the Lord Chamberlain’s department within the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the administration of or ...

, an office within the Royal Household at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

responsible for administering a large part of the British Honours system. He was the author of ''The Queen's Orders of Chivalry'' (1961). He retired in 1960 and the following year was appointed an Extra Gentleman Usher to the Queen, a post that he held until his death.

Family

On 7 October 1922, at All Soul's Church, St Marylebone, London, de la Bere married Marjorie Minton Haines, daughter of Noel Alexander Minton Haines. They had one child, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann de la Bere who predeceased him aged 18 years. Ann was aboard the MV Abosso (1 of 10 civilian casualties) when she was sunk by on 29 October 1942, in the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and British Isles. De la Bere died on 27 December 1970.

Awards

During his life de la Bere received the following British and Foreign honours and awards: *

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 ...

(OBE) 1934, advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1944. *

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, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO) 1950, advanced to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1959. *

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 ...

(CB) 1957. *

Commander of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

* Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

* Commander of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

(Thailand) * Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France) * Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

(Netherlands) * Officer of the Order of Radifan (Iraq) * Officer of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

(Denmark) * Officer of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

(Sweden) * Personal Order of the Shah of Persia

Notes

References

* ''Annual Army List''. * * ''The Times''. * ''Who Was Who''.

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delabere, Ivan 1893 births 1970 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Companions of the Order of the Bath Dorset Regiment officers Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Order of the Polar Star People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Military personnel from Gloucestershire