Major-General Sir Stuart Greeves and Bar, (2 April 1897 – 1989) was a

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

officer. He served in

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 ...

Military career

Born 2 April 1897 in Northampton, Greeves was educated at Northampton Town and County Grammar School. When 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 ...

broke out, he enlisted as a private in the 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment on 14 September 1914. He served in France & Belgium from 31 August 1915 to 24 August 1916. and was commissioned as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

with the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

on 25 January 1917. He returned to France with the 18th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on 3 March 1917 and served there until 21 August 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross when serving with the 18th battalion for actions around 25 to 28 March 1918 and the Bar to 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 ...

for actions around 1 June 1918 whilst the Intelligence Officer of the 18th battalion. He applied to join the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and was appointed on probation on 25 September 1918 and was appointed to the temporary rank of

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 sub ...

on 25 October 1918. Greeves was attached to 2nd Battalion,

152nd Punjabis The 152nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw service in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War, and was disbanded in September 1921. Histor ...

and saw service during the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. He was admitted to the Indian Army on 29 October 1919 and confirmed in the rank of lieutenant and was posted to the

82nd Punjabis The 82nd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1788, as the 29th Madras Battalion. It was designated as the 82nd Punjabis in 1903 and became the 5th Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was al ...

but transferred to the Supply and Transport Corps on 8 October 1921. In 1923 the Supply and Transport Corps was renamed the Indian Army Service Corps and in 1935 the prefix Royal was added. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 26 September 1922, and promoted to brevet

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 1 July 1934. He attended Staff College, Quetta between 1930 and 1931. Subsequently he was appointed officiating Staff Captain, Directorate of Supplies and Transport on 3 December 1931 and then Brigade Major, Wana Brigade from 16 August 1932 to 15 August 1936. Promoted to the substantive rank of major on 26 September 1935, he served on the North West Frontier from 1936 to 1937. Greeves was attached to the Directorate of Supplies and Transport on 26 November 1936. During the period 1938 to 30 May 1939 he served with 15 Independent Mechanical Transport Section and then as officer commanding 3 Motor Ambulance Unit. He was appointed General Staff Officer 2nd grade from 1 June 1939 to 13 March 1942 with Rawalpindi District Headquarters in India. and appointed an

Officer 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 o ...

as Major, RIASC, for service in Waziristan during 1940. and also mentioned in despatches as Major, RIASC, for service in Waziristan during 1940. Greeves was promoted to acting

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 ...

on 1 September 1943, to substantive

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 26 September 1943. and to temporary colonel and temporary

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. In ...

on 1 March 1944. He commanded the 80th Indian Infantry Brigade of 20th Indian Division in Burma from January 1944 to March 1945 and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

as Temporary Brigadier, RIASC, for his service in Burma and a

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the ...

to his

as temporary Brigadier, RIASC, also for his service in Burma. Greeves was advanced to

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 o ...

as temporary Brigadier, RIASC, for his service in Burma, and also

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 ...

three times. He was promoted to

on 1 January 1947 with seniority from 26 September 1946, and then promoted to acting

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 ...

during 1947 and to substantive major general on 1 October 1947 with seniority from 22 June 1947. He was appointed 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 ...

(Kings Birthday Honours) as Major-General, Special List, Ex-Indian Army. He retired from the Special List (ex-Indian Army) on 1 September 1948 but remained on the Special List while employed with the Pakistan Army. On 24 December 1947 he was posted as Quarter Master General of the Pakistan Army and remained in that role until 5 November 1948. In November 1948 Greeves was appointed to command the Bahawalpur State Forces which were then reformed, under his command, as 6 (Bahawalpur) Division, Pakistan Army. From January 1951 he was appointed the senior military advisor to the Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army. Appointed a

Knight 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 ...

as Major-General, Special List, Ex-Indian Army he ceased to be employed with Pakistan Army 15 April 1957 and retired.''London Gazette'' 25 October 1957

Citation for Bar to Distinguished Service Order

Brigadier (Temporary) Stuart Greeves CBE, DSO, MC

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. In ...
Greeves commanded 80th Indian Infantry Brigade of 20th Indian Division. After the capture of Monyra on 22 January 1945, his Brigade was ordered to clear the large area of the
Irrawaddy Irrawaddy may refer to: *Irrawaddy River, the main river of Burma *Irrawaddy Delta, a rice growing region of the country *Ayeyarwady Region, an administrative division of Burma *''The Irrawaddy'', a Burmese news publication based in Chiang Mai, Tha ...
and Chidwin confluence up to the Habet River and deceive the enemy into believing that a crossing was to take place in that area. This difficult task he planned and carried out most admirable and achieved his both his objects by hard fighting and tireless manoeuvre, during which he himself was always right forward, enthusing his troops and setting a wonderful example of fearlessness and dash, at all times completely regardless of his own safety, and quite indifferent to the fire of the enemy artillery, automatics and snipers to which he was subjected in each of the many actions fought by his Brigade.

Later, after a small bridgehead had been established across the Irrawaddy, he disengaged his Brigade with great skill and speed, and crossed over into the bridgehead; and thanks to fine planning, determination and speed, inflicted defeat after defeat on the Japanese, not only in close battle in the bridgehead area itself, but in a lightning sweep which carried his Brigade in four days over 35 miles of difficult country through the enemy’s artillery area, completely disorganizing it and various units of the 31st and 53rd Japanese Divisions to a position to threaten seriously the main
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
–
Meiktila Meiktila (; ) is a city in central Burma on the banks of Meiktila Lake in the Mandalay Region at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Ai ...
Road near Kyaukse. His troops killed a great number of the enemy during this drive, destroyed many dumps of ammunition, petrol and supplies, and captured no less than eleven guns most of whose crews fought them to the last. As usual, Brigadier Greeves was in the forefront of all the actions fought. He has throughout shown all the qualities of a great and fearless leader, and has carried out with his Brigade in one month the many difficult tasks given to him in such a brilliant way that he is most thoroughly deserving of the immediate award of a Bar to the Distinguished Service Order.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greeves, Stuart 1897 births 1989 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Indian Army generals British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lancashire Fusiliers officers Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Northamptonshire Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Northampton Indian Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War