John Dill

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John Greer Dill
December 25, 1881(1881-12-25) – November 4, 1944 (aged 62)
Sir John Dill at the headquarters of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Forces, Egypt, 18 February 1941
Place of birth	Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland
Place of death	Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1901 - 1944
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	Staff College, Camberley (8 Jan 1931 - 21Jan 1934) Director of Military Operations and Intelligence, War Office (22 Jan 1934 - 31 Aug 1936) British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan (8 Sep 1936 - 19 Sep 1937) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Aldershot Command (12 Oct 1937 - 2 Sep 1939) 1st Corps (3 Sep 1939 - Apr 1940) Chief of the Imperial General Staff
Awards	GCB (1942) KCB (1937) CB (1928) CMG (1918) DSO (1915) MID (8 times in World war I) DSM (21 Nov 1944, posthumously) Légion d'honneur (France) Croix de guerre British War Medal VM Croix de Couronne, 3rd class Croix de Guerre (Belgium) Order of the Crown of Roumania, 4th class Grand Cross, Order of St Olav (26 Nov 1943) Order of Polonia Restituta, 1st class (22 Jul 1941) Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO (25 December 1881 - 4 November 1944) was a British commander in World War I and World War II who played a significant role in the formation of the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Military career 3 Death 4 References 5 Further reading

[edit] Early life

Born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland in 1881, his father was the local bank manager and his mother was an American from Kentucky. Always intended for a career in the services Dill attended Cheltenham College and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1901 he joined the 1st battalion of the Leinster Regiment and was posted to South Africa to see out the Second Boer War.^[1]

[edit] Military career

Promoted captain in 1911 he was studying at the Staff College, Camberley on the outbreak of the First World War.^[2] He became brigade-major of the 25th brigade (8th division) in France where he was present at Neuve Chapelle. By the end of the war he was a brigadier general and had been mentioned in despatches eight times.^[2]

After the war he gained a reputation as a gifted army instructor. In 1929 he was posted to India and in 1930 was promoted to major general before returning to appointments at the Staff College (for in fact the third time) and then to the War Office.^[2]

Dill commanded British forces in Palestine (1936 - 1937) but at the outbreak of World War II he initially had to watch younger, junior officers be promoted over him. Seen as something of a dinosaur and poorly regarded by both Winston Churchill and Leslie Hore-Belisha, Minister for War, Dill was eventually posted as commander of I Corps in France (1939-40).^[3] On returning to the UK in April 1940, Dill was appointed Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff, under CIGS William Ironside, by the then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. On 26th May, 1940, after Chamberlain had been replaced by Churchill, Dill replaced Ironside as CIGS.^[3] Later in 1940, Dill became ADC General to King George VI.

By the time Churchill worked with Dill as Chief of the Imperial General Staff it was clear how poorly the two men got on. Dill gained a reputation as unimaginative and obstructionist.^[3] Keen to get him out of the way, Churchill posted him to Washington as his personal representative in 1941 where he became Chief of the British Joint Staff Mission,^[4] then Senior British Representative on the Combined Chiefs of Staff.^[5]

He showed a great flair as a diplomatic military presence. In 1943 alone he attended the Quebec Conference, the Casablanca Conference, the Tehran Conference and meetings in India, China and Brazil. He also served briefly on the combined policy committee set up by the British and United States governments under the Quebec Agreement to oversee the construction of the atomic bomb.^[4]

In the United States he was immensely important in making the Chiefs of Staff committee — which included members from both countries — function, often promoting unity of action.^[6] He was particularly friendly with General George Marshall^[7] and the two exercised a great deal of influence on President Roosevelt who described Dill as "the most important figure in the remarkable accord which has been developed in the combined operations of our two countries".^[8]

[edit] Death

Dill served in Washington until his death from aplastic anaemia in November 1944. His funeral arrangements reflected the great professional and personal respect and affection that he had earned. A memorial service was held in Washington Cathedral and the route of the cortege was lined by some thousands of troops, following which he was interred in Arlington National Cemetery, where a simple service was conducted at the graveside. A witness recorded that "I have never seen so many men so visibly shaken by sadness. Marshall's face was truly stricken ...". He was sorely missed by the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, who sent a fulsome message of condolence to their British colleagues:^[9]

We feel we share equally with you the loss to our combined war effort resulting from the death of Field Marshal Sir John Dill. His character and wisdom, his selfless devotion to the allied cause, made his contribution to the combined British-American war effort of outstanding importance. It is not too much to say that probably no other individual was more responsible for the achievement of complete cooperation in the work of the Combined Chiefs of Staff. ... we have looked to him with complete confidence as a leader in our combined deliberations. He has been a personal friend of all of us ... We mourn with you the passing of a great and wise soldier, and a great gentleman. His task in this war has been well done.

He was posthumously awarded an American Distinguished Service Medal in 1945^[8] as well as receiving an unprecedented joint resolution of the United States Congress appreciating his services.^[10]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• The British Field Marshals 1736-1997, Tony Heathcote, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Edmund Ironside	Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1940–1941	Succeeded by Sir Alan Brooke
Preceded by New creation	Chief of the British Joint Staff Mission Washington 1941–1944	Succeeded by Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson

v • d • e Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff Sir William Nicholson • Sir John French • Sir Charles Douglas • Sir James Murray • Sir Archibald Murray • Sir William Robertson • Sir Henry Wilson • Lord Cavan • Sir George Milne • Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd • Sir Cyril Deverell • Viscount Gort • Sir Edmund Ironside • Sir John Dill • Sir Alan Brooke • Viscount Montgomery • Sir William Slim • Sir John Harding • Sir Gerald Templer • Sir Francis Festing • Sir Richard Hull Chiefs of the General Staff Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt

v • d • e British Admirals of the Fleet, Field Marshals and Marshals of the Royal Air Force of World War II Admirals of the Fleet Lord Cork · Sir Andrew Cunningham · Sir Charles Forbes · Sir Dudley Pound · Sir James Somerville · Sir John Tovey Field Marshals Sir Harold Alexander · Sir Alan Brooke · Sir John Dill  · Lord Gort · Sir Edmund Ironside · Sir Bernard Montgomery · Lord Wavell · Sir Henry Wilson Marshals of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Ellington · Sir Cyril Newall · Sir Charles Portal