Major-General John Aldam Aizlewood MC & Bar DL (4 January 1895 – 27 September 1990) was a senior officer of the British Army who served during World War I, the interwar years, and World War II.
John Aldan Aizlewood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 January 1895 Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 27 September 1990 (aged 95) Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1945 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | 13500 |
| Unit | 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards |
| Commands | 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 3rd (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade Group 29th Armoured Brigade 30th Armoured Brigade 42nd Armoured Division |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Military Cross (with Bar) Mentioned in dispatches (2) |
Military career
editJohn Aldan Aizlewood was commissioned into 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards on 12 August 1914.[1][2]
He served in World War I on the Western Front and was awarded the Military Cross (with bar) while serving with the Machine Gun Corps.[1] The citation for his MC, awarded in January 1918, reads:[3]
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when with the leading troops of an advanced guard. Owing to his initiative and resource an enemy ammunition column was destroyed, a headquarters raided, and several officers, fifty men and two machine guns were captured.
The bar to his MC, awarded in June, reads:[4]
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On the troops on his right flank withdrawing, he immediately organised a counter-attack, leading it himself, by which the lost ground was regained. He succeeded in (maintaining his position, displaying the greatest initiative and gallantry throughout a most trying period.
After the war, he became a brigade major in India in 1927[1] and attended the Staff College, Quetta, from 1932 to 1933, alongside future generals John Grover and Edmund Hakewill-Smith. From 1936 to 1939 he was the Commanding Officer of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards.[5]
He was promoted colonel 1 August 1939 with seniority 25 May 1939.[2]
He also served in World War II initially becoming Commander of the 3rd (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade in 1939.[1] In August 1941 as part of Paiforce (formerly Iraqforce), Brigadier Aizlewood commanded Hazelforce and the 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade Group[1] during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia. He moved on to be Commander of the 30th Armoured Brigade in August 1942 and then took responsibility for completing the conversion of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division into a mechanised unit as the 42nd Armoured Division in December 1942.[1]
Returning to the UK he was appointed Commander of Essex and Suffolk District in late 1943 and acting General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Eastern Command in 1944 while Sir Alan Cunningham was away: he retired 9 May 1945 as an honorary major general.[1][2]
In retirement he was Colonel of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards from 1948 to 1958.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Aizlewood, John Aldam". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Half Yearly Army List January 1946
- ^ "No. 30651". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1918. p. 4994.
- ^ "No. 30761". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1918. p. 7397.
- ^ "Aizlewood, John Aldam". Generals.dk. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
Bibliography
edit- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.