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. I ...

James Joseph "Joe" Kingstone DSO & Bar MC

CBE 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 ...

, DL (26 August 1892 – 20 September 1966) was an officer in the

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 ...

during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World Wars 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 ...

Military career

Kingstone was born in

Milton Lilbourne Milton Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey between Pewsey and Burbage. It is largely a mixed residential area centred on the Manor. The nearest town is Marlborough, to the north. ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on 26 August 1892, the son of William John Kingstone. He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors ...

and then entered the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, from where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...

in 1912. His

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

was 4968. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoon Guards on 15 November 1914. He was appointed adjutant in his regiment on 1 May 1915 and was mentioned in dispatches on 30 November 1915. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 11 January 1916 and promoted to lieutenant on 21 January 1916. On 6 July 1917, as a captain, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for action in Flanders. He was also twice mentioned in dispatches during the First World War. He moved with the Queens Bays to India in 1922 and then appointed staff officer grade three. From April 1924 until August 1928 he returned to Sandhurst, this time as an Officer Commanding a Company of Gentlemen Cadets. In 1932 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commanding officer of the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...

and in 1936, having been promoted to colonel, he was given command of the 5th Cavalry Brigade. In 1938 as a temporary brigadier he was appointed Commandant of the School of Equitation, Weedon. He became commander of 4th Cavalry Brigade in 1939 and was deployed to the Middle East. He was briefly acting General Officer Commanding, 1st Cavalry Division in the Middle East in 1940 and then returned to the command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in the Middle East later that year. He then briefly commanded 1st Cavalry Division again in 1941 before returning to the command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade. During the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The ca ...

in May 1941, Kingstone was under the command of Major General J. G. W. Clark and was part of his relieving ''

Habforce Habforce was a British Army military unit created in 1941 during the Anglo-Iraqi War and still active during the Syria-Lebanon campaign during the fighting in the Middle East in the Second World War. Creation and composition Habforce, short for ...

'' which included the 4th Cavalry Brigade, a battalion of

The Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

, the Arab Legion Mechanised Regiment, a field artillery battery and a troop of anti-tank guns. Kingstone commanded a

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...

named ''

Kingcol Kingcol was a British Army flying column created during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Creation and composition ''Kingcol'' was created to allow a portion of '' Habforce'' to relieve RAF Habbaniya as soon as possible. The column was named after its comma ...

'' in his honor. ''Habforce'' and ''Kingcol'', parts of Iraqforce, attacked from the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

to relieve the forces defending

RAF Habbaniya ) , location = Habbaniya , country = Iraq , image = Habbaniya airfield, circa 1941.jpg , alt = A black and white image of some hangars, tentage and hard standings in a desert , ...

. Kingstone was again under Clark's command during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign in June 1941. He returned to the UK and became commander of 30th Armoured Brigade later in 1941 retaining the role until 1942.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingstone, James Joseph 1892 births 1966 deaths 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) officers 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Sherborne School People from Wiltshire Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Wiltshire British Army brigadiers

Military career

See also

References

Bibliography

External links