Major-General Sir James Arthur "Jack" d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet, (19 December 1912 – 6 September 1987) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He was a member of the prominent Anglo-

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish d'Avigdor-Goldsmid family, and his brother Sir Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet was also a Member of Parliament.

Early life

D'Avigdor-Goldsmid was born in 1912 at

Somerhill House Somerhill House ( ) is a listed building, Grade I listed Jacobean architecture, Jacobean mansion situated near Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. It was built for Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde, The 4th Earl of Clanricarde in 1611–13. T ...

, Kent, the younger son of Sir Osmond d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 1st Baronet. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

Military career

Having attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid was commissioned into the

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922. It served in the World War II, Second World War. However following the reduction of forces at the end of the Cold W ...

on 1 September 1932 as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 September 1935. He was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

on 14 October 1937. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 1 September 1940. As a captain ( temporary

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

) he participated in the

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

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was promoted to

on 1 July 1946, lieutenant colonel on 31 December 1951, and to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

on 19 January 1956. He was given command of 20th Armoured Brigade in 1958. He was promoted to

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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

on 1 January 1961. He was appointed Deputy Commander of

Aldershot Command Aldershot Command was a Home Command of the British Army. History After the success of the Chobham Manoeuvres of 1853, reformers of the British Army decided to create a permanent training camp at Aldershot. To begin the preliminary work a smal ...

from September 1961 to 1962.Army Commands
On 31 October 1962, he was granted the temporary rank of major-general and appointed Director of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. His promotion to major-general was confirmed on 1 January 1963 and back dated to 31 October 1962 with seniority from 6 April 1962. He relinquished the appointment of Director of the Royal Armoured Corps on 27 January 1965. On 28 February 1965, he was appointed President of the

Regular Commissions Board Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) is an assessment centre used by the British Army as part of the Military officer, officer selection process for the regular army and Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Army Reserve and related scholarship sche ...

, relinquishing the position on 20 September 1965. On 1 February 1966, he was posted to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

as Director of Territorial Army and

Cadets A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime o ...

. He relinquished the post on 20 January 1968, the day he retired from the military.

Later life and political career

In 1968, D'Avigdor-Goldsmid joined the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

and acted as Steward at several horse race meetings. In the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for

Lichfield and Tamworth Lichfield and Tamworth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Lichfield and Tamworth in Staffordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the ...

. He held the seat in the February 1974 general election. He lost his seat in the October 1974 general election to Labour's

Bruce Grocott Bruce Joseph Grocott, Baron Grocott (born 1 November 1940) is a British politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2001. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament for four terms between 1974 and 2001, ...

. He inherited the d'Avigdor-Goldsmid Baronetcy on 11 December 1976 upon the death of

Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid Major Sir Henry Joseph d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet, (10 June 1909 – 11 December 1976), sometimes known as Harry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, was a British Army officer, company director and politician. Early life, education and military career Th ...

, his elder brother.

Honours and decorations

On 31 August 1944, then Captain (temporary Major) d'Avigdor-Goldsmid was awarded the

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

(MC) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Normandy". In the 1965

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

, he was appointed

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 caregi ...

(CB). He was appointed to the

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

position of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

of the

on 6 June 1963.

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons February 1974''

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avigdor-Goldsmid, James D' 1912 births 1987 deaths 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards officers British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Harrow School UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 3 Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross British people of Dutch-Jewish descent Jewish British politicians

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...