Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

John George Walters Clark CB, MC and

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

(2 May 1892 – 16 May 1948) 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 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," fro ...

who fought in both

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 ...

and

World War II 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 ...

. During the latter he commanded the 10th Armoured Division, formerly the 1st Cavalry Division.

Early life

Clark was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

(1906–1910). After passing out from 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 ...

, Clark was commissioned into the

16th The Queen's Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

in 1911 and fought with them during

. He was twice awarded the

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 ...

: first in June 1917 and again in 1918. The citation for this second award, which was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

'', stated:

World War II

Between the wars he attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

from 1926 to 1927, and later returned there as an instructor from 1929 to 1932, and, by the time of

, he was commanding the 12th Infantry Brigade. From October 1939 to July 1942, Clark commanded the 1st Cavalry Division (re-designated 10th Armoured Division in 1941) as General Officer Commanding (GOC) based in

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and Trans-Jordan). In May 1941, Clark formed and commanded ''

Habforce Habforce was a British Army military unit created in 1941 during the Anglo-Iraqi War and still active during the Syria-Lebanon campaign during the fighting in the Middle East in the Second World War. Creation and composition Habforce, short for ...

'' (which when in Iraq became part of

Iraqforce Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II. Background During World War I, the British Army defeated the Ottoman Army in the Middle Eas ...

) which crossed the desert from Trans-Jordan to relieve

RAF Habbaniya Royal Air Force Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya ( ar, قاعدة الحبانية الجوية), (originally RAF Dhibban), was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about west of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, on the banks of the E ...

during the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The c ...

. When ''

Kingcol Kingcol was a British Army flying column created during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Creation and composition ''Kingcol'' was created to allow a portion of ''Habforce'' to relieve RAF Habbaniya as soon as possible. The column was named after its command ...

'', the

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...

of ''Habforce'', arrived the airfield garrison had already forced the threatening Iraqi force to retire. With the arrival of ''Kingcol'' the garrison drove on to capture Falluja and ''Kingcol'' then exploited this to advance on

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, arriving on 29 May. The Iraq government capitulated two days later. ''Habforce'' was also involved in the Syria-Lebanon campaign, advancing from eastern Iraq to capture Palmyra on 3 July to secure the

Haditha , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Inbound3292807512093856589نواعير حديثة.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption ...

– Palmyra

oil pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

. In August 1941, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised as the 10th Armoured Division. Clark remained in command until April 1942 so missing the division's active service at Alam Halfa and

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. He became GOC Lines of Communication in Tunisia and thereafter Deputy Governor of Sicily after its capture in 1943. At the end of 1943 he briefly became Major-General Administration at GHQ Middle East in Cairo before becoming Chief Administrative Officer at

Allied Forces Headquarters Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) was the headquarters that controlled all Allies of World War II, Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean theatre of World War II from August 1942 unti ...

(AFHQ) for which he held the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank—usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of t ...

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. In late 1944 Clark became head of the

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

(Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) mission to the Netherlands. His most notable activity was to prepare food dumps in liberated territory for supply to starving Dutch people as they became liberated following the Hunger Winter of 1944. For this work the Netherlands government made him an 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 ...

with Swords.

Retirement

Clark retired from the army in 1946 as an honorary lieutenant-general with the substantive rank of

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 ...

. He was awarded the United States'

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, in the Order of Commander in 1947 having already been given the award in the order of Officer in 1943

Army career summary

* Commissioned into

– 1911 * Instructor at Staff College Camberley – 1929 – 1932 * Commanding Officer 16th/5th Lancers – 1933 – 1936 * General Staff Officer 1 War Office – 1937 – 1938 * Commanding Officer 12th Infantry Brigade, France – 1938 – 1939 * General Officer Commanding 1st Cavalry Division, Middle East – 1939 – 1941 * General Officer Commanding 10th Armoured Division, Middle East – 1941 – 1942 * General Officer Commanding Lines of Communications Allied Forces Headquarters, Tunisia- 1942 – 1943 * Deputy Governor of Sicily – 1943 * Major-General Administration GHQ

Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

– 1943 * Chief Administrative Officer

– 1944 * Head Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Mission to Netherlands – 1945 * Head British Economic Mission to Greece – 1945 – 1947. Retired -1946. * on retirement in Athens, early 1947,he bought the ketch, Truant from George Millar with the intention of sailing it home to UK. His intended route was round the Med coast to Marseille then up the Rhone and through the French canals. Millar records that byre tired 1946. 1949 Truant was back in UK waters but Gen Clark Was dead. Is there any record of Gen Clark's voyage home or cause of death at such an early age?

Awards and decorations

* Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(30 December 1941) *

(4 June 1917) and

(22 June 1918) *

1914 Star The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Institution The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in Nov ...

& clasp *

British War Medal 1914-1920 The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal *

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 ...

five times (11 December 1917, 5 July 1919, 1 April 1941, 16 September 1943, 2 August 1945) * Commander of the

(United States, 14 November 1947), previously Officer (10 August 1943) *

Légion d'Honneur 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) *

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

with vermillion star (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 ...

with swords (Netherlands, 8 November 1945)British National Archives WO 373/144/194
/ref> * Grand Officer, ''Iftan Niftikar'' (Tunisia)

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, George 1892 births 1948 deaths 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Recipients of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People educated at Winchester College People from Wokingham Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Military Cross British Army lieutenant generals Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Berkshire