Geoffrey Thompson (British Army officer)
Sir Geoffrey Thompson | |
|---|---|
Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order |
Military career
Thompson was born as the youngest of three sons in Wokingham, Berkshire, in 1905, the son of Brigadier-General William Arthur Murray Thompson and his wife, Henrietta Rickman. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne and Britannia Royal Naval College before going to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[1][2] After passing out from Woolwich, Thompson was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 28 January 1925.[3][4]
He served in
In 1945 Winston Churchill ordered the planning of "Operation Unthinkable", to launch an offensive against the Soviet Forces after the defeat of Germany to wrest Eastern Europe from the Soviet Union. Thompson was asked to create a plan to push back the Soviet Forces into Poland. The plan could only muster some 47 UK and US Divisions against 170 Soviet ones and controversially sought to rearm Wehrmacht and SS troops to close the gap. Widespread opposition from the UK Chiefs of Staff eventually saw it shelved.[6]
He later became
He was also
In retirement he became a Director of Arthur Guinness, Son & Co. (Dublin) Limited.[7]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780225658873– via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "FamilySearch.org". ancestors.familysearch.org.
- ^ "No. 33015". The London Gazette. 27 January 1925. p. 593.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives". kingscollections.org.
- ^ "MEDAL GROUP TO A GENERAL AND HIS WIFE". Trade Me.
- ^ Milton, Giles (23 May 2021). "Operation Unthinkable: Churchill's top secret plan to invade Russia". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Parliamentary Debates Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Dáil Éireann, Volume 238, 19 February 1969