John Grover (British Army officer)
John Grover | |
---|---|
Born | Mentioned in Despatches | 6 February 1897
Relations | General Sir Malcolm Grover (father) |
Early life and military career
Grover was born in British India, the son of General
Between the wars
Remaining in the army during the interwar period, spent mostly as a captain with his battalion in India, Grover married in 1930. He became Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General, India, and saw service on the North-West Frontier from 1930 to 1931. He attended the Staff College, Quetta from 1932 to 1933 and, after serving as a staff officer with Aldershot Command and commanding the KSLI regimental depot, he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, KSLI in 1938, which had just arrived in England from India.[9][10][8]
Second World War
Shortly after the outbreak of the
The 5th Division was also serving in France as part of the BEF. By May 1940 it was decided that the 5th Division should return to the United Kingdom as a reserve formation; this was soon countermanded. On the following day, 10 May, the Germans launched their long-waited assault in the west and the 5th Division was heavily engaged throughout the Battle of France, in particular at the Battle of Arras and the Battle of the Ypres–Comines Canal, before being ordered to retreat to Dunkirk, where most of the division, by now heavily battered after sustaining severe casualties, was evacuated to England, arriving there on the night of 31 May/1 June.[8]
Just two weeks later Grover left the division, received promotion to
Grover devised and implemented a strategy to remove the Japanese from the Kohima region of India leading to the defeat of the Imperial Japanese Army at the Battle of Kohima between April and June 1944.[11] During the battle Grover's division suffered very heavy casualties, in May losing all three infantry brigade commanders, but gaining the division's third Victoria Cross of the war, belonging to Captain John Randle of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment.[12] Despite being victorious in this battle, Grover was removed from command on 4 July 1944 by Lieutenant General Stopford, the corps commander, who was unhappy with Grover's methods. His replacement as GOC of the 2nd Division was Major General Cameron Nicholson.[13] Grover went on to be Director of Army Welfare Services at the War Office in 1944 before retiring from the army in 1948.[9]
Postwar
Grover became Colonel of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1947, holding this post until 1955.[14] In 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Kohima, a memorial to Grover was unveiled at Jotsama on the site of his 2nd Division Headquarters.[15]
References
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. 14 June 1979. p. 16.
- ^ India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786–1947
- ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1898. p. 865.
- ^ "No. 29007". The London Gazette. 15 December 1914. p. 10696.
- ^ "No. 31219". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 1919. p. 3240.
- ^ "No. 13510". The Edinburgh Gazette. 8 October 1919. p. 3215.
- ^ Keane 2010, p. 458.
- ^ a b c d e f Smart 2005, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d Generals.dk
- ^ "1st Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ The Battle of Kohima, North East India, 4 April – 22 June 1944 Archived 6 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 36833". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 December 1944. p. 5673.
- ^ Swinson 2015, p. 315.
- ^ "The King's Shropshire Light Infantry". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Nagaland Post". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-00-713240-9.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
- ISBN 9781784081782.