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General ‘Boy': The Life of Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Browning

Page 45

by Richard Mead


  Legion of Merit 164

  Order of Polonia Restituta 164

  KBE 184

  KCVO 209

  GCVO 219

  Military Career: Great War

  at Sandhurst 11–12

  joins Grenadier Guards 13

  posted to 2nd Battalion 14

  meets Churchill 16

  sick leave 17

  rejoins 2nd Battalion 17–18

  platoon commander 19–20

  acting Adjutant 21

  at Passchendaele 21

  at Gauche Wood 22–4

  promoted captain 24

  in Ludendorff Offensive 24–5

  ADC to Rawlinson 25–6

  Adjutant 1st Battalion 26–7

  Military Career: Between the Wars

  Adjutant 1st Battalion 29–30

  Resident Captain, Guards Depot 30–4

  posted to 2nd Battalion 34

  Adjutant, RMC Sandhurst 34, 35–40

  posted to 3rd Battalion 41

  promoted major 41

  course at Small Arms School 41, 57

  sick leave 41–2

  failure to attend Staff College 42

  posted to 2nd Battalion 49

  2nd in Command, 1st Battalion 51

  at Senior Officers School 51

  2nd in Command 2nd Battalion 52–3

  promoted lieutenant colonel 53

  Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion 53–6

  in Egypt 53–5

  promoted colonel and leaves Grenadier Guards 56

  Military Career: 1939–41

  Assistant Commandant, Small Arms School 56

  promoted brigadier 56

  Commandant, Small Arms School 56

  visits BEF 57

  Commander 128 Brigade 58–62

  selected as Inspector of Infantry 61–2

  Commander 24 Guards Brigade 62–65

  in Exercise ‘Bumper’ 64

  promoted major general 62

  Military Career: 1941–43

  GOC 1 Airborne Division 66–86

  Dungeon Party 68, 89

  discipline and esprit de corps 70, 76

  Airborne Forces beret 70–1, 246

  problems with bureaucracy 71, 77

  issues with equipment 71–2

  qualifies as glider pilot 72

  and Bruneval Raid 72–3

  Churchill visits 75

  Brooke supports and Portal opposes 74–5, 82–3, 84–5

  King and Queen visit 75

  and Gale 75, 82

  supports creation of Airborne Forces Security Fund 76

  and Sosabowski 77–8

  Eisenhower visits

  visits USA 78–80

  Brooke visits 82

  visits North Africa 84

  MPs visit 85

  injured in glider accident 85

  Military Career: 1943

  Commander Airborne Forces and Airborne Adviser AFHQ 87–94

  visits North Africa 87–9

  and Hackett 88

  establishes HQ in North Africa 90

  and Ridgway 90–1

  and Hopkinson 91, 93

  Operation ‘Husky’ 89–93

  returns to England 93

  visits India 94

  Military Career: December 1943–September 1944

  promoted lieutenant general 96

  Commander Airborne Troops and I Airborne Corps 96–168

  and Down 93–4, 96, 106–7, 152–4

  and Roy Urquhart 97, 152–3

  planning for 6 Airborne Division in Normandy 98, 102

  and SAS Brigade 99–100, 102–3

  and Poles/Sosabowski 100–1, 106–7

  and Gavin 101

  accompanies Second Army to France 103

  aborted operations (see ‘Beneficiary’, ‘Comet’, ‘Hands Up’, ‘Linnet’, ‘Linnet II’, ‘Transfigure’)

  state of HQ 105–6

  and Brereton 108, 110, 123

  and morale 111, 112

  Military Career: September–December 1944 (see also ‘Market Garden’)

  meets Montgomery and Dempsey 113, 115–17

  concern over going ‘a bridge too far’ 115–16

  and timing of lifts 118–9, 154–5

  and location of drop zones 119–20, 154–5

  and priorities at Nijmegen 120, 158–9, 212, 213–4

  and employment of I Airborne Corps HQ 120–1, 156–8

  and intelligence concerning German divisions 122, 155–6

  and overconfidence of senior officers 121, 152

  flies into battle 125–6

  and poor communications 126, 127, 128, 151, 157–8

  and Gavin 120, 127, 128–31, 158–9, 163, 213–4, 227

  meets Horrocks and Adair 129, 130

  and Waal crossing 130–2

  and competence of HQ 133, 157, 161

  meets Dempsey 135, 160

  rejects offer from 52 Division 135–6, 159–60

  and responsibilities for defence 138, 149

  meets Mackenzie and Myers 139, 143

  at Valburg Conference 140–1, 160

  and Sosabowski 141, 143, 160–1

  and withdrawal of 1 Airborne Division 143, 146–7, 161, 162

  and personal feelings 143, 147

  letter to Roy Urquhart 145–6

  meets Roy Urquhart 146–7

  addresses survivors 147

  withdraws HQ to England 150

  letter to Hollinghurst 150–1, 163

  responsibility for failure 152–162

  role in ‘sacking’ of Sosabowski 164–6

  Montgomery’s opinion of 166

  Miltary Career: December 1944–July 1946

  COS to Mountbatten 169–90

  arrives in Imphal 169

  tour of ALFSEA formations 169–70

  arrives in Kandy 170

  staff 171, 185

  and Leese 170, 172, 176–8

  returns to London to request aircraft 173

  visit to China and Burma 174

  takes Victory parade 176

  and Burmese politicians 178

  and ‘Python’scheme 178–9

  and Japanese surrender 180, 181

  and RAPWI 181–2

  relocates HQ to Singapore 184

  and Chinese trade unionists 185

  and Netherlands East Indies 182–3, 184, 186, 188–9, 190

  leaves SEAC 190

  Military Career: July 1946–December 1947

  Military Secretary 190, 193–8

  and Montgomery 194

  travels to Europe and Middle East 194–5

  and resignation of O’Connor 197–8

  resigns regular commission 198

  Career in Royal Household

  Comptroller & Treasurer to Princess Elizabeth & Duke of Edinburgh 199–206

  responsibilities 200

  refurbishment of Clarence House 200, 205

  at Balmoral 201–2, 209

  travels to Malta 205–6

  at funeral of King George VI 206

  Treasurer to Duke of Edinburgh 207–19

  supports Duke in charities 208–9

  travels to Tobruk 212

  and breakdown 215–6

  first return to Palace 217–8

  second return to Palace 218

  decision to retire 218

  Retirement appointments

  Deputy Lieutenant 221

  Territorial Army 221

  Civil Defence 221

  Legacy

  reputation 226–7

  portrayal in A Bridge Too Far 228–33

  Browning, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick (‘Freddie’) (Boy’s father) 3–4, 6, 7, 8, 12–13, 23, 26, 28–9, 43, 44, 46, 244, 253

  Browning, Lieutenant Colonel George (Boy’s first cousin) 203, 244

  Browning, Grace (Boy’s sister) x, 5, 7, 20, 26, 43, 50, 55, 195, 197, 220, 223, 225, 252

  Browning, Helen (Boy’s aunt) x, 2, 7, 43, 57

  Browning, Henry (Boy’s great-grandfather) 1 />
  Browning, Hubert (Boy’s first cousin) 6

  Browning, Sir John (of Leigh) 1

  Browning, Sir John (of Coaley) 1

  Browning, Colonel Montague Charles (Boy’s grandfather) 1–2, 7, 243

  Browning, Admiral Sir Montague Edward (Boy’s uncle) 2, 23, 43, 50, 243

  Browning, Nancy, née Alt (Boy’s mother) 4–5, 6–7, 23, 43–4, 50, 55, 60, 64, 252

  Browning, Olive (Hacker) (Boy’s daughter-in-law) 223, 227

  Browning, Robert (poet) 1

  Browning, Tessa (Boy’s daughter) x, 52, 53, 54, 60, 187, 191–2, 197, 201, 210–11, 224, 227, 243

  Browning, Thomas 1

  Browning, William 1

  Bruce, Major General G.McI.S. 170

  Bruneval Raid 72–3, 78

  Brussels 110, 111, 112, 113, 117, 119, 123, 125

  Bruuk 126

  Buchanan, Captain J.N. 19

  Buckingham Palace x, 13, 28, 168, 198, 203, 207, 211

  ‘Bumper’, Exercise 64

  Bunny, Mr 195

  Bunt, Dick 187, 197

  Burghley, Lord (David Cecil, later Marquess of Exeter) 33, 186, 196, 209, 244

  Byng, General Viscount 21, 24, 25

  Caen Canal 98, 104

  Cain, Major R.H. 168

  Calcutta 170, 174, 175

  Cambrai, Battle of 21, 41, 244

  Cameronia, SS 53

  Camposena 47, 48

  Cannon, General John K. 247

  Cannon Hall 47, 52

  Carew Pole, Sir John 221, 254

  Carew Pole, Cynthia, Lady 221

  Carrington, Peter, Lord 50, 55–6, 128–9, 132, 245, 249

  Carton de Wiart, Lieutenant General Sir Adrian 170, 186

  Casablanca Conference 84, 85, 87

  Cassels, Field Marshal Sir James 35, 39, 227, 244, 254

  Caterham (see Guards Depot)

  Cator, Lieutenant Colonel H.J. 97, 125, 146, 147

  Cavan, Field Marshal The Earl of 14, 15, 28, 59, 243

  Central Council of Physical Recreation 208

  Central Landing Establishment 66, 67

  Champion de Crespigny, Brigadier General C.R. 18–19, 20, 21

  Charles, HRH Prince (Prince of Wales) 205, 212

  Charteris, Lord 205, 206, 207

  Chatterton, Brigadier G.J.S. 72, 76, 81, 91, 125, 128, 148, 170, 246, 248, 249

  Chequers, HMS 205

  Chiang Kai-shek, Generalissimo 170, 174, 186

  Christison, General Sir Philip 169, 170, 174, 177, 182, 188

  Chudo, Rear Admiral 180

  Churchill, Sir Winston 10, 69, 72, 73, 85, 94, 170, 179, 180, 198, 206

  in 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards 16, 243; conceives Airborne Forces 66–7; and Bruneval Raid 73; visits Airborne Division 74, 75, 78; impatience with progress 74, 81; on dispute between Brooke & Portal 82, 83; and Clarence House 207; Boy dines with 212

  Civil Defence Corps 221

  Clarence House 198, 200, 203, 205, 207, 220

  Claridges Hotel 4, 166, 221

  Clark, General Mark W. 78, 87, 91

  Clark Kerr, Sir Archibald (later Lord Inverchapel) 189, 252

  Clarke, Mary Anne 211, 253

  Clouds Hill 60, 61

  Coaley 1, 2, 43, 243

  Coldstream, John 232

  Collins, Major John 60–1

  Collins, Captain Jim 171, 174

  Cologne 28, 113, 116, 130, 131, 195

  Colombo 170, 172, 181, Colville, Sir John 198, 199–200, 205, 227

  Combe, Lady Moira (see Scott)

  Combined Services Rugby Football Club 196, 200

  ‘Comet’, Operation 111–13, 115, 116, 117, 118, 121, 154, 156, 159

  Connaught, HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of 13, 25

  Cook, Colonel Julian A. 131–2

  Cooper, Dame Gladys 46, 52

  Cora Ann, motor boat 49, 50

  Corkran, Major General Sir Charles 36, 38–9, 40, 42

  Cornwall Territorial & Auxiliary Forces Association 221, 225

  COSSAC 101

  ‘Covent Garden’ 216–17, 254

  Cowan, Lieutenant Colonel J.M.B. 68

  Coward, Noel 230

  Cowes Week 201, 209

  Crawford, General Sir Kenneth 89, 93, 102, 246

  Crocker, General Sir John 102

  Crookenden, Lieutenant General Sir Napier 227

  Cumberland HMS 178, 182

  Cumming, Captain (RN) Sir Mansfield 29

  Cunningham, Group Captain John 253

  Cutty Sark Preservation Society 208, 221, 253

  Cyprus 55

  Darwin, Charles 4

  Davies, Lieutenant Colonel J. 234

  Deelen Airfield 118, 119, 136, 154

  De Guingand, Major General Sir Francis 111, 115, 123, 189

  De Kluis 129

  Dempsey, General Sir Miles 118, 148, 149, 164, 189, 203, 212, 214, 228

  at Sandhurst 35; at Small Arms School 41; in ‘Husky’ 88, 93; Boy joins HQ of 103; role in abortive operations 109–10, 112; on alternatives to Arnhem 113, 116; at meetings with Montgomery and Boy 115–17, 121; on the planning of ‘Market Garden’ 119, 122; and location of Airborne Corps HQ 121, 156; and use of 52 Division 135–6, 160; and changes in command 137; on withdrawal of 1 Airborne Division 140, 141–2, 143, 146, 250; impact on ‘Market Garden’ 152; as C-in-C ALFSEA 178, 181, 189; disagrees with Mountbatten 185; as C-in-C Middle East 191, 195

  Den Heuvel woods 149

  Denning, Lieutenant General Sir Reginald 171, 174, 184, 186, 189, 190

  Denny, Lieutenant G. 90

  Des Voeux, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Richard 67

  De Valois, Dame Nina 204

  Deventer 157

  Dexter, Staff Sergeant 68

  De Zulueta, Marie-Thérèse (Boy’s granddaughter) 211, 222

  De Zulueta, Paul (Boy’s grandson) 211, 222, 224

  De Zulueta, Peter (Boy’s son-in-law) 211, 223

  Dill, Field Marshal Sir John 76, 78

  Doesburg 157

  Dommel, River 117

  Dorman-Smith, Brigadier E.E. 35–6, 39, 49, 251

  Dorman-Smith, Sir Reginald 178, 251

  Doubleday, Ellen 197, 202, 210, 217

  Doubleday, Nelson 197

  Down, Lieutenant General Sir Eric 67, 81, 93, 94, 96, 106–7, 152–3, 170, 175, 247

  D’Oyly Carte, Dame Bridget 203

  D’Oyly Carte, Richard 3–4

  D’Oyly Carte, Rupert 3–4, 43, 203

  Driel 136, 140

  Dublin 33, 223–4

  Duivelsberg 137

  Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme 208–9

  Du Maurier, Angela (Daphne’s sister) 45, 47, 98, 193

 

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