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 Philip John Newling Ward, (10 July 1924 – 6 January 2003) was a
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...
officer whose skilled diplomacy calmed the rulers of the Gulf States as Britain prepared to withdraw from the region. Ward served as
high sheriff of
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
(1985–86), and a
deputy lieutenant from 1981. Thereafter he was
Lord-Lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
of West Sussex (1994–99), having been Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
from 1990 to 1994.
Early life
Philip Ward was the son of G. W. N. Ward and was educated at
Monkton Combe School
(Thy Word is Truth)
, established =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, founder = The Revd Francis Pocock
, head_label = Head Master
, head ...
near Bath.
[Debrett's People of Today 1994] He was commissioned into the
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...
in 1943 and served with the 2nd Battalion in the
armoured reconnaissance
Armoured reconnaissance is the combination of terrestrial reconnaissance with armoured warfare by soldiers using tanks and wheeled or tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicles. While the mission of reconnaissance is to gather intelligence about ...
role, equipped with
Cromwell tank
The Cromwell tank, officially Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. Named after the English Civil War-era military leader Oliver Cromwell, the Cromwell was th ...
s, during the campaign in
North West Europe
Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically.
Geographic definitions
Geographically, Northw ...
in the
Guards Armoured Division
The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier G ...
. This included
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...
– the start of the breakout from the eastern end of the
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
Bridgehead
In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
– the subsequent fighting in the countryside of the
bocage
Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use.
''Bocage'' may als ...
and the armoured dash to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. It is believed that it was one of 2nd Welsh Guards' Cromwell tanks that was the first to enter
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 3 September 1944, before going on to
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
. The battalion suffered many casualties during the early months of the campaign.
Post-war and Gulf diplomacy
Much of his service after the Second World War was concerned with the exacting demands of military ceremonial at unit, and later, at state level. He was adjutant of the Eaton Hall Infantry Officer Cadet School, 1950–52, and of the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...
, 1960–62, before being appointed Brigade Major of the Household Division and London District in 1962. In this last assignment he was responsible for orchestrating all ceremonial events in which the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards were involved, from the annual Trooping the Colour on the official birthday of the Queen down to the almost weekly guards of honour for visiting foreign dignitaries.
After commanding the 1st Welsh Guards
[ in Aden and the Western Protectorate, he found the job in the ]Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
tedious and was thinking of leaving the Army when, out of the blue, he was appointed Commander Land Forces, Gulf, as a Brigadier, in 1969.[ By then the Aden base had been abandoned and the British Headquarters in the Middle East shifted to ]Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. Abandonment of Aden and the Protectorate sheikhs
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
caused the Gulf State rulers to look to their own guarantees from Britain and – especially those newly rich with oil – to a greater independence in their foreign affairs. In January 1968 a British Government emissary informed the Gulf Rulers that, far from remaining indefinitely, the British military presence was to be withdrawn by the end of 1971 as part of the ending of commitments east of Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
. Although some alarm was expressed by the smaller and financially weaker states, the British declaration actually drew the states closer together and Ward was able to close down his command in an atmosphere of continuing friendship and co-operation.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
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 ...
for his services in the Gulf and took over as Major-General commanding the Household Division
The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division#United Kingdom, Household Division of the British Army and is also the General officer commanding, General Officer Commanding London District (British Army), Lon ...
and General Officer Commanding London District
London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as ''Home District''.
History
In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in ...
in October 1973.[ As in the Gulf, but in a completely different context, Ward was in his element. He knew the ceremonial aspects down to the last detail and clearly enjoyed this period of his career, of which the highlight was probably the occasion of the marriage of ]The Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Ki ...
in 1973. In 1974 his home was badly damaged by a Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
bomb.Crime in Britain Today
/ref> He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
at the end of his tour of command and moved to Camberley to become the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, another scene with which he was familiar, in 1976.[
]
Later life and positions
On leaving the army in 1979, he became a Communar of Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...
(1980–83),[ and a director of a wide range of companies. He was director of public affairs at ]International Distillers & Vintners International Distillers & Vintners was a brewing and wine and spirits distribution company, formed from the 1962 merger of W&A Gilbey and United Wine Traders.
Founders
W&A Gilbey was founded in 1857 as a gin distillery by Sir Walter Gilbey, but ...
,[ chairman of Peter Hamilton from 1986 to 1990,][ and a director of W&A Gilbey Security Consultants from 1983 to 1989. The funds of another company of which he was a director began to diminish in unexplained circumstances. Lunching with a fellow director after a board meeting he inquired whether he thought they might be sent to prison. Not reassured by his companion's reply, he remarked: "Well if we are, I shall ask the judge to send us to Ford Open Prison where I believe there is an excellent library."
He was high sheriff of ]West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
(1985–86), and a deputy lieutenant from 1981. Thereafter he was lord-lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
of West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
(1994–99), having been vice lord-lieutenant of the county from 1990 to 1994.[ Ward was president of the South of England Agricultural Society (1994–95), Governor of the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade (1979–86), and Patron of the Chichester Cathedral Trust in 1995. Sir Philip was president of the D-Day and Normandy Fellowship from 1990 to 2001.
In 1993, he laid the foundation stone for new site of ]Tanbridge House School
Tanbridge House School is a coeducational secondary school located in Horsham, West Sussex, England. Its current head master is Mr Sheridan who started in 2022. The school teaches a variety of subjects across the curriculum. In 2012 95.7% of ...
in Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
.
He married Pamela Ann Glennie in 1948. She survived him with their two sons and two daughters.[
]
References
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Philip
1924 births
2003 deaths
British Army generals
Welsh Guards officers
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
British Army personnel of World War II
British military personnel of the Aden Emergency
High Sheriffs of Sussex
Lord-Lieutenants of West Sussex
Commandants of Sandhurst
Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
People educated at Monkton Combe School
Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex