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 ...

Stanley Woodburn Kirby, (13 February 1895 − 19 July 1968) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served in both World Wars.

Personal

Stanley Kirby was the son of Sir Woodburn Kirby, born in the Hendon district of London. He was educated at Charterhouse School. Kirby was married twice; first in 1924 to Rosabel Gell who died in 1954 – the couple had one son. His second marriage was in 1955 to Mrs Joan Catherine.

Career

Kirby was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 17 July 1914 and served 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 ...

in Egypt (1915), France (21 February to 21 October 1915) and Macedonia (1 December 1915 to 7 September 1917). He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the

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 ...

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and finished the war as a captain. He was Assistant Instructor in Survey, School of Military Engineering from 24 May 1920 until 15 July 1923 and served in Singapore between 1923 and 1926. He studied at the Staff College, Camberley from 1927 to 1928. From 9 February 1931 until 18 February 1935, he served as a General Staff Officer at the Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence,

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, starting as a General Staff Officer, 3rd grade (GSO3) and then as 2nd grade (GSO2). He studied at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1936. From October 1937 until 1943, Kirby served at General Headquarters, India, first as Assistant Master-General of Ordnance, then as Deputy Master-General of Ordnance (from 13 March 1940). He was Director of Staff Duties from 1 October 1941 and became Deputy Chief of the General Staff, India, in 1942. Kirby returned to Britain and he was appointed as Director of Civil Affairs, at the War Office in June 1943, until April 1944. In 1945, he was Deputy Chief of Staff (Organisation), British Element, Control Commission for Germany. Working as a historian from 1950, he was a joint author of The War Against Japan, the volumes in the official history series ''

History of the Second World War The ''History of the Second World War'' is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication ...

'' on the war in the Far East.

Awards and decorations

* 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 ...

(2 June 1943) * Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (1 January 1947) * Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire (11 June 1940) * 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 ...

(Military Division) (3 June 1927) *

and

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

(14 January 1916 and 4 October 1919) * 1914–15 Star * British War Medal 1914–1920 * Victory Medal *

Mention 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 ...

(1 January 1916) * Grand Officer of the

Order of Orange Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, with Swords (Netherlands) * Commander of the Legion of Merit (US, 14 May 1948) * Commander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Citation for second Military Cross: Attached

46th (North Midland) Division The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Mont ...

al Signal Company, R.E., T.F., attd. R.A., 46th Divisional H.Q.: Near

Bellenglise Bellenglise () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the St. Quentin Canal, nine kilometres north of St. Quentin. History About two kilometres ...

, on 2 October 1918, and two following days, he worked night and day under very trying conditions, and was mainly instrumental in keeping the Signal communications of the 46th Division through during the attack on

Ramicourt Ramicourt () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The commu ...

and Montbrehain. His efficiency, courage and enthusiasm were a fine example to those under him.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Stanley 1895 births 1968 deaths War Office personnel in World War II British Army generals of World War II British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Middlesex People from Hendon People educated at Charterhouse School Royal Engineers officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commanders of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies