Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

George Edwin Brink, (27 September 1889 – 30 April 1971) was a South African military commander.

Early life

Brink was born at

Jagersfontein Jagersfontein is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. Origin The original farm on which the town stands was once the property of a Griqua Jacobus Jagers, hence the name Jagersfontein. He sold the farm to C.F. Visser in 1854. ...

, Orange Free State, on 27 September 1889 and was educated at Grey College, Bloemfontein.

Military career

In 1913, Brink joined the Union Defence Forces. In 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 served in German East Africa during the first East African Campaign. In 1919, he attended the Imperial Staff College. On his return, Brink was appointed to the staff of the South African Military College, later being appointed Commandant of the College. In 1933, Brink was appointed the first Officer Commanding of the

Special Service Battalion The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of t ...

. In December of that year, Colonel Brink was posted to Cape Town to take command of

Western Cape Command Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

, where he served till 31 January 1937. From 1 November 1937 to 1939, he was Director of Army Training at Defence Headquarters. He was promoted to Deputy Chief of the General Staff on 15 June 1938. From 1940 to 1942, Brink commanded the 1st South African Division during the second East African Campaign. He also commanded the division during the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa. In 1942, Brink turned over command of the division to Dan Pienaar. After hurting his back and being declared unfit for field duty, Brink then commanded the Inland Area Command in South Africa from 1942 to 1944. From 1944 to 1948, Brink was in charge of demobilisation. He had already retired from the Permanent Force in 1946 and promoted to lieutenant general in the Reserves. During his military career, Brink was awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palmes,

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, ty ...

, Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1941, and

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 ...

in 1942. He was also appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brink, George 1889 births 1971 deaths White South African people South African people of Dutch descent South African military personnel of World War II Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire