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. I ...

James Noel Tetley (30 December 1898 – 25 December 1971) was a member of a prominent

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

brewing family and 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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who saw active service in the Italian Campaign 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 opposi ...

Early life

James Noel Tetley was born on 30 December 1898 in

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

, Leeds, to Frank Tetley and his wife Harriett Constance. The Tetley family founded and directed Joshua Tetley & Son of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, one of the largest brewers in the country. Towards the end of

World War I 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 ...

, aged 19, Noel Tetley was commissioned into the Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment ( Second lieutenant 19 May 1918).''Army List''. However, the war ended before he could proceed overseas on active service. On the reformation of the part-time

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, Noel Tetley joined the 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. This was the 'family regiment': the original volunteers for the

Leeds Rifles The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Fron ...

in 1859 had come from Tetley employees, and the Commanding officer in 1919 was Noel's cousin Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier) Charles Harold Tetley, DSO. Noel Tetley steadily rose in the Leeds Rifles between the World Wars, becoming Commanding Officer of 7th Battalion with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 16 February 1938. The following November, the 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion was converted from infantry to the armoured role, becoming 45th (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment. Soon afterwards the company based in Morley, West Yorkshire, split off to form 51st (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment.

Second World War

Until the outbreak of the

in September 1939, Tetley was engaged in training his Territorial soldiers, and once war was declared his battalion took in new drafts of militiamen (wartime

conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

) for training, even though there were no real tanks to train on until February 1940. In December 1941 a new 34th Army Tank Brigade was created and Tetley was promoted to Acting

to take command of it. On 3 July 1943 Tetley left 34 Tank Brigade to assume command of

25th Army Tank Brigade The 25th Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army that was active before and during the Second World War. It served with the British First Army and the British Eighth Army during the battles in North Africa and It ...

in Tunisia, whose commander had been wounded during the recent campaign in Tunisia. Among its tank regiments were the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

, which had served under him in 34 Tank Brigade, and 51 RTR formed from his battalion of the Leeds Rifles (the third regiment was 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps). These veterans of the Tunisia Campaign remained in North Africa for many months, training and conducting exercises, until they embarked for Italy and landed at Naples in April 1944. Tetley commanded the brigade through all its operations in the Italian Campaign that year. He was the only TA officer of the RTR to command a brigade on active service during the Second World War. The brigade distinguished itself in support of the

1st Canadian Infantry Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

in the assault on the Hitler Line in May 1944. The North Irish Horse lost 60% of its available tanks and suffered more casualties in men than any other day in its history, and later celebrated 23 May as its Regimental Day. At the request of the Canadian commander, the brigade adopted the Maple Leaf as an additional badge. This badge is still worn by the successors of 51 RTR, the Leeds Detachment (Leeds Rifles), Imphal (PWO) Company, The East and West Riding Regiment. Later, it was 142 RAC of Tetley's brigade that effected the junction between the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

and

US Fifth Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.

at Valmontone on 3 June. Tetley led 25th Tank Brigade during the advance to Florence in July and August, and at the forcing of the Gothic Line and

Rimini Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of t ...

in August and September. 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, ty ...

in October 1944. In late November the regiments of 25 Tank Brigade were withdrawn from the front line to rest and refit with specialist armoured vehicles. 'No reason was seen why the rest should be extended to the enemy', and Tetley sent the tanks of his Brigade HQ Troop up to the line to bombard the enemy, firing their guns for the first time at the end of a long campaign. As 25 Tank Brigade prepared to convert to an Armoured Assault Brigade of the Royal Engineers (RE), Tetley relinquished command of the brigade to an RE officer in December 1944 and returned to the United Kingdom. He was granted the rank of Honorary

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 o ...

on 1 March 1945, and later was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

with four clasps.

Postwar

In 1948, with the rank of Honorary Brigadier, Noel Tetley was appointed as an Aide-de-Camp to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II (1948–1958). In the same year he succeeded his cousin, Brigadier C.H. Tetley, DSO, TD, as Honorary Colonel of the Leeds Rifles and held the position until 1963. During this period the 45th/51st (Leeds Rifles) RTR once again became the 7th Battalion of the PWO West Yorkshires. Tetley served as President of the Court of

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and was the University's Pro-Chancellor 1956–1965, deputising for the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

who was the ceremonial Chancellor. (Again, his cousin Charles Harold had preceded him in the office (1926–1946).) He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the University in 1951. His portrait in academic robes was painted by Henry Marvell Carr. Tetley was also President of the

Leeds Permanent Building Society The Leeds Permanent Building Society was a building society founded in Leeds, England in 1848 and was commonly known in a shortened form as The Leeds or The Perm. It should not be confused with the extant Leeds Building Society (formerly Leeds ...

, and a Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire. Brigadier Noel Tetley died on 25 December 1971, leaving a widow, Joyce Carine Tetley, and two children, Richard and Carine.

Notes

References

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External links

* http://www.generals.dk/general/Tetley/James_Noel/Great_Britain.html * http://www.northirishhorse.com * http://www.northirishhorse.net * https://web.archive.org/web/20140104114844/http://suffolkregiment.org/ * http://www.yorkshirevolunteers.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Tetley, James Noel 1898 births 1971 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order West Yorkshire Regiment officers Royal Tank Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire People from Headingley Military personnel from Leeds British Army brigadiers of World War II