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General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Richard Vernon Tredinnick Ford, (18 February 1878 – 12 April 1949) was a

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as Adjutant-General Royal Marines.

Military career

Born on 18 February 1878, Ford was commissioned into the

Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

in 1896 and promoted to captain in 1903. During the

First World War 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 ...

he commanded the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Siege Guns at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.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 ...

. In January 1928 Ford, by then a

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 of ...

, was made a 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 ...

, and was an aide-de-camp to the King from 1929 to 1930. Appointed Adjutant-General Royal Marines in June 1930, then the highest appointment within the Royal Marines, he was elevated to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in January 1933. He retired in October 1933 with the rank of

Personal life

Ford was twice married. In 1903, he married Diana Pollard, daughter of Rear-Admiral George Northmore Arthur Pollard. After her death in 1911, he was married in 1913 to Mildred Powell Underwood, daughter of Capt. Powell Cecil Underwood, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. He died in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

on 12 April 1949, aged 71.

References

External links

Photograph of Sir Richard Ford
held by the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Richard 1878 births 1949 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Marines generals Military personnel from Portsmouth Royal Marines personnel of World War I