John Dill
Order of Polonia Restituta, 1st Class (Poland) |
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Early life
Born in
Always intended for a career in the armed forces, Dill, along with his sister, Nicolina Frances, attended the Methodist College Belfast,[4] from 1887 to 1889. This was followed by his education at Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.[2][5][6] According to historian Richard Doherty, Dill's conduct at Sandhurst were "exemplary" although there "were no indications of the outstanding intelligence for which he would later be noted and his marks were described as mediocre".[7]
Early life and military career
From Sandhurst Dill was
Dill, by now a
Staff College certainly made Dill; his talents for planning and problem solving were discovered and honed during his year at Camberley and were soon put to the toughest test of all – war.[7]
First World War
Shortly after the war began, and after having briefly serving on the staff of Southern Command, Dill became brigade major of the 25th Brigade, part of the 8th Division, which was sent to the Western Front to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), where Dill would remain for the rest of the war. He was present at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915 and for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order.[18][19][16]
During 1916 Dill, promoted in May to
Between the wars
After the war Dill returned to the Staff College and served as an instructor there.
After three years there he went to the War Office in London as Director of Military Operations and Intelligence,[33] holding that post until 1 September 1936.[16][34] Alongside his other positions, he was appointed to the largely honorary role of Colonel of the East Lancashire Regiment on 24 December 1932, a position he held until his death.[35][5]
Following his service on the General Staff, Dill was sent to Palestine, during the
Second World War
At the outbreak of the Second World War Dill hoped to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, but the position again went to Gort. The resulting vacancy as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) was filled by Sir Edmund Ironside, leaving Dill to be eventually posted as commander of I Corps in France on 3 September 1939.[39][38] He was promoted to general on 1 October 1939 (with seniority backdated to 5 December 1937).[40][5]
On returning to the UK in April 1940,[41] Dill was appointed Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff (and a member of the Army Council),[42] under Ironside, by the then Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. On 27 May 1940, after Chamberlain had been replaced by Churchill, Dill replaced Ironside as CIGS.[38][43]
Faced with the prospect of a German invasion, Dill produced a memorandum on 15 June advocating the use of chemical warfare against an enemy landing. Although acknowledging that first use of chemical weapons would alienate the United States and invite retaliation, he concluded that "at a time when our National existence is at stake ... we should not hesitate to adopt whatever means appear to offer the best chance of success."[44]
After criticism from the Director of Home Defence and other offices Dill withdrew the memorandum. Nevertheless, the proposal was largely endorsed by Churchill on 30 June and it was ordered that the Royal Air Force begin preparations for deploying mustard gas, although he added that actual employment would need to be ordered by Cabinet.[44]
Dill was promoted
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.
Death
Dill served in Washington until his death from
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.[55]
Dill was posthumously awarded the American
References
- ^ a b "Field Marshall Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO". geni_family_tree. 30 August 2023.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32826. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b Doherty 2004, p. 62.
- ^ "Sir John Dill". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ Doherty 2004, p. 62−63.
- ^ a b c d Doherty 2004, p. 63.
- ^ "No. 27311". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 May 1901. pp. 3128–3130.
- ^ Heathcote 1999, p. 102.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning Home". The Times. No. 36888. London. 2 October 1902. p. 4.
- ^ "No. 27598". The London Gazette. 18 September 1903. p. 5788.
- ^ "No. 27607". The London Gazette. 20 October 1903. p. 6371.
- ^ "No. 27944". The London Gazette. 28 August 1906. p. 5869.
- ^ "No. 28529". The London Gazette. 8 September 1911. p. 6628.
- ^ "No. 28687". The London Gazette. 4 February 1913. p. 844.
- ^ a b c d Heathcote 1999, p. 103.
- ^ a b c Smart 2005, p. 85.
- ^ a b c Danchev 1991.
- ^ "No. 12824". The Edinburgh Gazette. 29 June 1915. p. 924.
- ^ "No. 29578". The London Gazette. 12 May 1916. p. 4699.
- ^ "No. 30653". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1918. p. 5043.
- ^ Harris 2008, p. 464.
- ^ a b Doherty 2004, p. 64.
- ^ "No. 30450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1917. pp. 3–5.
- ^ "No. 31454". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1919. p. 8957.
- ^ "No. 31812". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 March 1920. p. 2868.
- ^ "No. 31514". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 August 1919. p. 10604.
- ^ "No. 31560". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1919. p. 11749.
- ^ "No. 33343". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1927. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 33677". The London Gazette. 6 January 1931. p. 146.
- ^ "No. 33682". The London Gazette. 20 January 1931. p. 459.
- ^ Doherty 2004, p. 65.
- ^ "No. 34018". The London Gazette. 26 January 1934. p. 608.
- ^ "No. 34319". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 September 1936. p. 5659.
- ^ "No. 34319". The London Gazette. 6 January 1933. p. 129.
- ^ "No. 34327". The London Gazette. 29 September 1936. p. 6212.
- ^ "No. 34396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1937. p. 3078.
- ^ a b c d Heathcote 1999, p. 104.
- ^ "No. 34753". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 December 1939. p. 8305.
- ^ "No. 34709". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 October 1939. p. 6933.
- ^ "No. 34855". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 May 1940. p. 3091.
- ^ "No. 34873". The London Gazette. 14 June 1940. p. 3608.
"No. 34878". The London Gazette. 21 June 1940. p. 3779.
"No. 34920". The London Gazette. 13 August 1940. p. 4932.
"No. 35068". The London Gazette. 7 February 1941. p. 750.
"No. 35187". The London Gazette. 10 June 1941. p. 3320.
"No. 35208". The London Gazette. 4 July 1941. p. 3820.
"No. 35247". The London Gazette. 15 August 1941. p. 4719.
"No. 35414". The London Gazette. 9 January 1942. p. 193. - ^ "No. 34858". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 May 1940. p. 3175.
- ^ ISBN 978-1409021926.
- ^ "No. 35352". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 November 1941. p. 6693.
- ^ a b Smart 2005, p. 86.
- ^ "No. 35399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1941. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 35397". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 December 1941. p. 7369.
- ^ a b Heathcote 1999, p. 105.
- ^ "Sir John Greer Dill, Field Marshal, British Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ISBN 978-0815410423.
- ^ "Letter Roosevelt to Churchill on the announcement of the posthumous honours to Dill". FDR Library. 10 January 1945. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "A Very Special Relationship: Field Marshal Sir John Dill and General George Marshall" (PDF). Marshal Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Home - FDR Presidential Library & Museum". www.fdrlibrary.org.
- ^ Danchev 1991, pp. 67–68.
- ^ "No. 36801". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 November 1944. p. 5321.
- ^ "Burial Detail: Dill, John Greer (Section 32, Grave S-29)". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website).
- ^ McLeroy, Carrie (2 June 2014). "There's a lot you don't know about Arlington National Cemetery". United States Army. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
There are only two equestrian monuments at Arlington National Cemetery. The first is for Maj. Gen. Philip Kearney, located in Section 2. The second is Field Marshall Sir John Dill in Section 32.
Bibliography
- Churchill, Winston S. (1985). Their Finest Hour: Volume 2: The Second World War. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-395-41056-1.
- Danchev, Alex (1986). Very Special Relationship: Field Marshal Sir John Dill and the Anglo-American Alliance, 1941–44. London: Brassey's Defence Publishers. ISBN 0-08-031197-0.
- Danchev, Alex (1991). ISBN 0-304-36712-5.
- ISBN 9781851828654.
- Harris, J.P. (2008). Douglas Haig and the First World War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89802-7.
- Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736–1997. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-696-5.
- Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II. Stroud: Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
Further reading
- Danchev, Alex. "Very Special Relationship: Field Marshal Sir John Dill and General George Marshall." online
- Danchev, Alex. "'Dilly-Dally', or Having the Last Word: Field Marshal Sir John Dill and Prime Minister Winston Churchill." Journal of Contemporary History 22.1 (1987): 21–44.
- Stoler, Mark A. (2003). Allies and Adversaries: The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Grand Alliance, and US Strategy in World War II. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
External links
- British Army Officers 1939–1945
- CWGC: John Dill
- Generals of World War II
- Newspaper clippings about John Dill in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- "Sir John Greer Dill". at ArlingtonCemetery.net. 7 November 2022. (Unofficial website).