John Swayne
|
Sir John Swayne
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1890 |
| Died | 1964 (aged 73 or 74) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant-General |
| Commands held | 1st Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 4th Division South-Eastern Command |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Lieutenant General Sir John George des Reaux Swayne KCB CBE (1890–1964) was General Officer Commanding South-East Command.
Military career
Born the son of the Rt. Rev. William Shuckburgh Swayne (Bishop of Lincoln),[1] Swayne was commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1911.[2] He served in World War I spending most of it as a prisoner of war.[2] After the War he was appointed Aide-de-camp to the General Officer Commanding Western Command in India before becoming Adjutant of his Regiment in 1924.[2] He became a General Staff Officer at the War Office in 1927 and Brigade Major for 7th Infantry Brigade in 1929.[2] He was made Military Assistant to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1930 and Chief of Staff for the International Force for the Saar Plebiscite in Germany in 1934.[2] He was selected to be Commanding Officer of 1st Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in 1935 and Chief Instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1937.[2]
He served in World War II initially as Head of the British Military Mission to the French General Headquarters and then as General Officer Commanding 4th Division from 1941.[2] He was appointed Chief of the General Staff for Home Forces in 1942 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Eastern Command in 1942.[2] His final appointment was as Chief of the General Staff in India in 1944; he retired in 1946.[2]
References
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | General Officer Commanding the 4th Division 1940–1942 |
Succeeded by John Hawkesworth |
| Preceded by | GOC-in-C South-Eastern Command 1942 – 1944 |
Succeeded by Sir Edmond Schreiber |
| Preceded by | Chief of the General Staff (India) 1944–1946 |
Succeeded by Sir Arthur Smith |
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- 1890 births
- 1964 deaths
- Somerset Light Infantry officers
- British Army personnel of World War I
- British Army generals of World War II
- World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- British World War I prisoners of war
