Charles Harington (British Army officer, born 1910)
Charles Henry Pepys Harington | |
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Early life and career
Charles Henry Pepys Harington was born in
Charles Harington was educated at
Second World War
He joined the
He spent most of the war on a variety of staff appointments, and married Victoire Marion Williams-Freeman in 1942. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel, he was appointed as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment, in March 1944.[3] The battalion (formerly the 6th Battalion, a Territorial Army before being redesignated as 1st Battalion in May 1942), serving as the machine gun battalion of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, a first-line TA formation commanded by Major-General Robert Ross, was poorly trained and virtually unfit for duty, but Harington quickly brought it to full combat readiness. The battalion, along with its parent division, landed in Normandy, France, in late June, three weeks after the Normandy landings, and was engaged in severe fighting throughout the Battle of Normandy, and most of the subsequent fighting in Western Europe, until Harington relinquished command in mid-September 1944, when he became a General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1) with the 53rd Division HQ. He retained this post until May 1945.[1] For his services as CO of the 1st Manchesters, Harington was awarded the Distinguished Service Order DSO in early 1945.[1]
Post-war service
Harington was rapidly promoted after the war. He was General Staff Officer Grade 1 at the headquarters of the
Promoted to
Aden
Promoted to
He then had to deal with
Late career
Harington returned from Aden in 1966 to take up the position of
In retirement, Harington was president of the
Harington's wife died in 2000, and he himself died in 2007, to be survived by a son and two daughters.
Awards and decorations
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (1969), previously Knight Commander (1964), and Companion (1961)[1]
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (8 March 1957), previously Officer (Civil Division) (1953)[1]
- Distinguished Service Order (1 February 1945)[1]
- Military Cross (20 August 1940)[1]
- Mentioned in despatches (4 April 1946)[1]
- Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau with Swords (Netherlands, 18 July 1947)[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "No. 33575". The London Gazette. 31 January 1930. p. 651.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ "No. 33907". The London Gazette. 31 January 1933. p. 673.
- ^ "No. 34538". The London Gazette. 5 August 1938. p. 5031.
- ^ "No. 42560". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1961. p. 77.
External links
- Obituary, The Times, 15 February 2007
- Obituary[dead link], The Daily Telegraph, 20 February 2007
- Extract from The Cheshire Regiment Association Newsletter, December 2001
- Obituary, The Guardian, 22 March 2007
- British Army Officers 1939–1945