Philip Christison
Sir Philip Christison, 4th Baronet | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Christie" Scottish Education Department |
Early life and First World War
Philip Christison was born on 17 November 1893 in
As with so many others of his generation, the outbreak of war in August 1914 saw Christison volunteering for service with the British Army. Subsequently, he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant into the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders on 5 September 1914.[11][12] The battalion, a Kitchener's Army unit created from volunteers, formed part of the 45th Brigade of the 15th (Scottish) Division and, after training in the United Kingdom, departed for the Western Front in July 1915. He saw action in the battles of Loos (where he was wounded and awarded the Military Cross), the Somme and Arras.[8][13] Promoted to lieutenant on 11 February 1917,[14] in July 1917 he was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross. The citation for this award reads:
His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award a Bar to the Military Cross to the undermentioned Officers.
2nd Lt. (temp. Capt.) Alexander Frank Philip Christison, M.C., Cam. Highrs.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He displayed the utmost courage and determination in pushing back the enemy and clearing the north side of the village. By his tireless energy he succeeded in getting the position consolidated under heavy fire. (Military Cross gazetted 14th January, 1916.)[5]
Promoted to captain on 4 August 1917,[15] three years since the outbreak of war, on 24 October 1918 he was promoted to the acting rank of major,[16] and served as second-in-command (2IC) with the 1/6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, a Territorial Force (TF) unit, part of the 152nd (Seaforth and Cameron) Brigade of the 51st (Highland) Division. The war came to an end soon after, with the signing of the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918.[8]
Between the wars
In August 1919, he relinquished his last wartime appointment and reverted to the rank of captain,[17] and, by now a Regular Army officer, served with his regiment's 2nd Battalion, then serving in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine. From 19 April 1920 Christison returned to the United Kingdom and took up the post of adjutant of a Territorial Army (TA) unit.[18]
After vacating his position as adjutant of the 4th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, another TA unit, in November 1923,[19] Christison was assistant manager of the British Olympic team in Paris in 1924[13] which was followed by a further appointment as an adjutant,[20] this time with his regiment. Still a captain, he attended the Staff College, Camberley from January 1927[21] to December 1928. His fellow students there included several who, like Christison, would eventually rise to high command, such as Oliver Leese, John Whiteley, Evelyn Barker, Robert Bridgeman, Eric Dorman-Smith, Ronald Penney and John Hawkesworth. His instructors included the likes of Richard O'Connor, Bernard Paget, Edwin Morris, Harold Franklyn, Henry Pownall, George Giffard and Bernard Montgomery. Shortly after graduating from Camberley he was appointed as a General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) at the War Office.[22]
Having been promoted to the brevet rank of major on 1 January 1930,[23] a sign of approval and likely future promotion at a time when prospects for promotion in the peacetime army were slow, Christison saw service from 22 January 1931 as the brigade major (a brigade's senior staff officer) of the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade,[24] relinquishing the appointment on 20 January 1933.[25] He was promoted to major on 4 November 1933.[26] On 1 January 1934 Christison was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel[27] and returned to the Staff College, Camberley as an instructor (GSO2)[28] where he became good friends with a fellow instructor, William Slim.[29][8]
On 18 March 1937, Christison, due to a lack of promotion in his own regiment, transferred to the
Second World War
Christison remained in command of the brigade until 15 March 1940, over six months since outbreak of the
In May 1941 Christison returned to the United Kingdom and, after serving briefly as a Brigadier General Staff (BGS), on 17 June 1941 was promoted to the acting rank of
Following this, in June 1942, he returned to India, after handing over the 15th Division to Major-General
During the
In 1945, Christison assumed temporary command of the Fourteenth Army
In September 1945 Christison deputised for
Postwar
Christison was
He retired from the army in 1949[50] and farmed at Melrose in Scotland. During the 1950s and 1960s he was Secretary of the Scottish Education Department.
Christison married twice: to Betty Mitchell, with whom he had three daughters and a son, from 1916 until her death in 1974; and then to Vida Wallace Smith until her death in 1992.
Memorial
A brass memorial plaque to his memory lies on the south aisle of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal).
References
- ^ Mead (2007), p. 99
- ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 September 1942. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 36994". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 1945. p. 1544.
- ^ "No. 29438". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1916. p. 582.
- ^ a b "No. 30188". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 July 1917. p. 7216.
- ^ "No. 37184". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 July 1945. p. 3746.
- ^ "No. 38620". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 May 1949. p. 2607.
- ^ a b c d e "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ Smart, p. 62
- ^ "No. 28808". The London Gazette. 3 March 1914. p. 1734.
- ^ "No. 29058". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 February 1915. p. 1185.
- ^ a b c d e f g Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ a b c d e f Christison Family Papers: Life and Times of General Sir Philip Christison: an Autobiography
- ^ "No. 30344". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 October 1917. p. 10819.
- ^ "No. 30398". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1917. p. 12302.
- ^ "No. 31072". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 December 1918. p. 14886.
- ^ "No. 31746". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 January 1920. p. 941.
- ^ "No. 31888". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1920. p. 5207.
- ^ "No. 32885". The London Gazette. 4 December 1923. p. 8451.
- ^ "No. 32984". The London Gazette. 21 October 1924. p. 7591.
- ^ "No. 33241". The London Gazette. 21 January 1927. p. 436.
- ^ "No. 33460". The London Gazette. 25 January 1929. p. 616.
- ^ "No. 33576". The London Gazette. 4 February 1930. p. 726.
- ^ "No. 33685". The London Gazette. 30 January 1931. p. 673.
- ^ "No. 33906". The London Gazette. 21 January 1933. p. 591.
- ^ "No. 33992". The London Gazette. 3 November 1933. p. 7108.
- ^ "No. 34011". The London Gazette. 2 January 1934. p. 55.
- ^ "No. 34382". The London Gazette. 23 March 1937. p. 1913.
- ^ Mead (2007), p. 98
- ^ "No. 34382". The London Gazette. 23 March 1937. p. 1912.
- ^ "No. 34488". The London Gazette. 1 March 1938. p. 1347.
- ^ "No. 34503". The London Gazette. 19 April 1938. p. 2594.
- ^ "No. 34504". The London Gazette. 22 April 1938. p. 2653.
- ^ a b Mead (2007), p. 97
- ^ "No. 35205". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1941. p. 3755.
- ^ "No. 35803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 November 1942. p. 5207.
- ^ "No. 35812". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 December 1942. p. 5331.
- ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette. 29 December 1942. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 36247". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 November 1943. p. 5015.
- ^ Mead 2007, p. 98.
- ^ "No. 36720". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 September 1944. p. 4473.
- ^ ‘Empire and Cold War: the Roots of US-Third World Antagonism, 1945-1947 by Scott L. Bills, published 1990
- ^ Peter Dennis, Troubled Days of Peace Mountbatten and South East Asia Command, I945-46 (New York: St Martin's Press, 1987), pp. 162, 182-3
- ^ "No. 38051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 August 1947. p. 3933.
- ^ "No. 37144". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 December 1947. p. 5863.
- ^ "No. 38668". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 July 1949. p. 3531.
- ^ "No. 38068". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 September 1947. p. 4280.
- ^ "No. 38019". The London Gazette. 17 July 1947. p. 3373.
- ^ "No. 38891". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 April 1950. p. 2019.
- ^ "No. 38651". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 June 1949. p. 3175.
Bibliography
- Liddle, P. H. (1997). Passchendaele in Perspective: The Third Battle of Ypres. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-0-85052-588-5.
- 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.