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 ...

Joseph Aloysius Baillon (6 October 1895 – 11 April 1951) 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 served 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 ...

Early years

Joseph Baillon was the seventh son of Louis Augustin and Mary Julia Baillon (at some time residents of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

). He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

and at St Bede's College. He married, in 1925, Gertrude Emily Fellowes Prynne of Plymouth; the couple had two sons and one daughter.

Military career

Shortly after the outbreak of

, Baillon volunteered for service with the

and was commissioned as an officer into the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

on 30 January 1915. He earned his

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 ...

during the advance to Abancourt in 1918.

As Adjutant during the advance through Abancourt on the afternoon of 9 October 1918, he frequently, under heavy fire, proceeded in advance of the battalion in order to find the route. Both before and after this event he carried out his duties regardless of his personal safety under the most adverse conditions, and often under heavy artillery fire.

Baillon remained with the South Staffordshires during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

until 1931, as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an 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 forces as a non-commission ...

or as a

staff captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

. From 1931 to 1932 he was in England, where 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 ...

, where

Brian Horrocks Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...

Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...

Arthur Dowler Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Arnhold Bullick Dowler KCB KBE DL (16 July 1895 – 14 November 1963) was a senior British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding (GOC) East Africa Command. Military career Educated at Tonbridge Scho ...

Cameron Nicholson General Sir Cameron Gordon Graham Nicholson, (30 June 1898 – 7 July 1979) was a British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces. He later served as Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Military career After being educated ...

and

Nevil Brownjohn General Sir Nevil Charles Dowell Brownjohn, (25 July 1897 – 21 April 1973) was a senior British Army officer who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1956 until his retirement in 1958. Military career Brownjohn was commissioned ...

were among his classmates. From 1936 and 1945, he was employed as a General Staff Officer in the Middle East, Australia and Britain. In

, from September 1942 until November 1943 as an Acting Major-General, Baillon was

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

for

Persia and Iraq Command The Persia and Iraq Command was a command of the British Army established during the Second World War in September 1942 in Baghdad. Its primary role was to secure from land and air attack the oilfields and oil installations in Persia (officially ...

in 1942, under General

Henry Maitland Wilson Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson, (5 September 1881 – 31 December 1964), also known as Jumbo Wilson, was a senior British Army officer of the 20th century. He saw active service in the Second Boer War and then during the ...

, its new head. They were concerned about the influence of

Fazlollah Zahedi Fazlollah Zahedi ( fa, فضل‌الله زاهدی, Fazlollāh Zāhedi, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian lieutenant general and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d'é ...

, the general in charge of the Persian forces in the

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

area, who, their intelligence told them, was stockpiling grain, liaising with German agents, and preparing an uprising. Baillon and Bullard asked Fitzroy Maclean, one of the

inspirations for James Bond A number of real-life inspirations have been suggested for James Bond (literary character), James Bond, the fictional character created in 1953 by British author, journalist and British Naval Intelligence, Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming (1 ...

, to remove Zahidi alive and without creating a fuss. Maclean devised a

Trojan horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

plan: he and a senior officer would call on Zahidi to pay their respects, and then arrest him "at the point of a pistol" within his walled and guarded residence. At the end of this posting, he was appointed a

CBE 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 ...

. Baillon was Chief of the General Staff for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in 1943. He was made Director of Organisation at 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 ...

in 1945 and then General Officer Commanding Aldershot District in 1946.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> In 1948 he was made a

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 ...

. He retired from the Army on 30 March 1949 as a Major-General. From 1949, Baillon was a Director of the Irish brewers,

Beamish and Crawford Beamish and Crawford was a brewery and brewing company based in Cork, Ireland, established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery. In the early 1800s, it was the largest brewery in Ireland. Be ...

Ltd, of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. Joseph Baillon died on 11 April 1951.

Honours and awards

10 June 1948 * Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) 5 August 1943 (OBE 30 December 1941) *

2 April 1919 *

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 ...

24 May 1918, 23 December 1943 * Commander of the Order of the Crown with Palm (Belgium) 15 February 1952 * Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm (Belgium) 15 February 1952

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baillon, Joseph 1895 births 1951 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) South Staffordshire Regiment officers People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham People educated at St Bede's College, Manchester Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army major generals Military personnel from London