Montagu Stopford

Not to be confused with his grandfather, the 19th century admiral Montagu Stopford (admiral).

Sir Montagu George North Stopford
Lieutenant General Sir Montagu Stopford
Born	16 November 1892
Died	10 March 1971(1971-03-10) (aged 78)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1911 – 1949
Rank	General
Commands held	17th Infantry Brigade 56th (London) Infantry Division Staff College, Camberley XII Corps XXXIII Indian Corps British Twelfth Army South East Asia Command Northern Command
Battles/wars	First World War Western Front Second World War Battle of France Battle of Arras Burma Campaign Battle of Imphal Battle of Kohima Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches

General Sir Montagu George North Stopford GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (16 November 1892 – 10 March 1971), was a British Lieutenant General during the Second World War and Commander-in-Chief of the South East Asia Command from 1946 to 1947.

Early life

Stopford was the son of Colonel Sir Lionel Arthur Montagu Stopford, and the great-grandson of James Stopford, 3rd Earl of Courtown. His mother was Mabel Georgina Emily, daughter of George Alexander Mackenzie. He was educated at Wellington College and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1911, serving with the 2nd Battalion of the regiment in India until 1914.^[1] He fought in the First World War,^[1] where he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross.

Second World War

Immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War, he was an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley. He commanded the 17th Infantry Brigade, part of the British Expeditionary Force, from 1939 to 1940, leading the brigade during the Defence of Arras.^[1] He was General Officer Commanding the 56th (London) Infantry Division from 1940 to 1941 and then became Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley in October 1941.^[2] He commanded XII Corps from 1942 to 1943^[3] and XXXIII Indian Corps in Burma from 1943 to 1945.^[1] He finally commanded British Twelfth Army, formed in Burma in 1945.^[1]

After the war Stopford served as commander of Burma Command (renamed from Twelfth Army) from 1945 to 1946, as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Land Forces in Netherlands East Indies in 1946 and as Commander in Chief of South East Asia Command from 1946 to 1947 before becoming General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command from 1947 to 1949.^[1] He retired from the Army in 1949,^[1] with the rank of General. He was also appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifle Brigade.

Stopford was awarded the DSO in 1940 and made a CB in 1942. In December 1944 he and his fellow corps commanders Christison and Scoones were knighted and invested as KBE by the viceroy Lord Wavell at a ceremony at Imphal in front of the Scottish, Gurkha and Punjab regiments. Slim was knighted and invested as KCB at the same occasion.

Later life

After the war Stopford was further made KCB in 1947 and a GCB in 1948. In 1962 he held the honorary post of Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. He lived at Rock Hill House in Chipping Norton.^[4] He married Dorothy, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Foulkes Deare, in 1921.^[5] They had no children. His wife died in 1982.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
2. ^ Army Commands
3. ^ Generals.dk
4. ^ Blue plaque to Stopford at Chipping Norton
5. ^ The Peerage.com

Military offices
Preceded by Robert Collins	Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley 1941–1942	Succeeded by Sir Alan Cunningham
Preceded by James Gammell	GOC XII Corps 1942–1943	Succeeded by Neil Ritchie
Preceded by Sir Philip Christison	GOC-in-C Northern Command 1947–1949	Succeeded by Sir Philip Balfour

Persondata
Name	Stopford, Montagu George North
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 November 1892
Place of birth
Date of death	10 March 1971
Place of death