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 ...

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 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 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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

politician. He was a member of the prominent Anglo-

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

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 on 19 December 1912 and was the younger son of Sir Osmond d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Harrow School.

Military career

Having attended 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 infant ...

, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid was commissioned into the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards on 1 September 1932 as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 1 September 1935. He was appointed adjutant on 14 October 1937. He was promoted to captain on 1 September 1940. As a captain ( temporary major) he participated in the

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

of 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 ...

. He was promoted to major 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 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 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, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

on 1 January 1961. He was appointed Deputy Commander of Aldershot Command from September 1961 to 1962.Army Commands
On 31 October 1962, he was granted the temporary 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 ...

and appointed Director of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

. 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, relinquishing the position on 20 September 1965. On 1 February 1966, he was posted to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Territorial Army and Cadets. 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 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 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

general election, he was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Lichfield and Tamworth. He held the seat in the February 1974 general election. He lost his seat in the October 1974 general election to

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Bruce Grocott Bruce Joseph Grocott, Baron Grocott PC (born 1 November 1940) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Early life Grocott was born in Kings Langley near Watford, and was educated at the University of Leicester. He obtained an MA ...

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

(MC) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Normandy". In the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He was appointed to the honorary position of

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 ...

of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 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 British Jews 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 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 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, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...