Brigadier-General Sir Godfrey Dean Rhodes (18 July 1886 – 21 February 1971) was a Canadian-born and -educated soldier who served with the British Army in Canada, Turkey, Bulgaria, Kenya, Uganda, Persia-Iraq and India.

Education

Sword of Honour @ Royal Military College of Canada

He was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

, was educated at

Trinity College School Trinity College School (TCS) is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than two years before Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School ...

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...

. He enrolled at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

from 1903 to 1907. He was first in his class, served as College Battalion Sergeant-Major in 1906–07 and won the Sword of Honour. He graduated with honours, and won the Governor-General's Gold Medal.

Military service

On graduation, he was commissioned by the Imperial Army and served with the Royal Engineers. He was promoted Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 27 June 1907. He initially serviced in India with the 9 Railway Company Sappers. During the war of 1914–1918, he served in France and the Near East. Following the collapse of Turkey he went to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

to take over the Turkish State Railways. He later took over the Bulgarian Railway Lines.

Family

He married Lady Reith and the couple had a son and daughter. Rhodes was appointed General Manager, Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours, with effect from 30 October 1934 until he was seconded to military duty in 1941.

Civilian career

As a Major with the Royal Engineers he was an associate civil engineer in Rhodes, Macpherson Fox Smith (Cape Town). Prior to World War II, he served as Chief Engineer and later General Manager of the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Railways and Harbours. He was active in the Boy Scout movement and served as Chief Scout Commissioner for

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

prior to

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 opposing ...

. While in Kenya in 1941, he oversaw the burial of Lieutenant-General The 1st Baron Baden-Powell.

Return to military service

In 1941, he went to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, to inaugurate the "Aid to Russia" service and was known as "The Saviour of Stalingrad". Since it looked as if Iraq, Persia and Turkey would become a battle area, the British forces in these areas were strengthened. A new Command called Persia and Iraq Force (PAIFORCE) was formed in September, 1942. In 1942, he became Deputy Quartermaster General Movements and Transportation for the Persia and Iraq Force with headquarters at

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. In March, 1945, he was appointed Regional Port Director of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, under the Government of India.Brigadier Sir Godfrey Rhodes, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O. Aid to Russia Through the Persian Gulf The Empire Club of Canada Speeches 1945–1946 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Empire Club Foundation, 1946)

Awards and recognition

He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath,

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 ...

, and Companion of 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, ty ...

. He was mentioned in despatches three times. He received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

, the Order of the White Eagle from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The King bestowed a

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

on him on 1 Jan 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Godfrey D. Canadian Anglicans Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Military College of Canada alumni 1886 births 1971 deaths British Army brigadiers of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers officers Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom