- Sidney Kirkman
Infobox Military Person
name= Sidney Chevalier Kirkman
lived=29 July 1895 –29 October 1982
placeofbirth=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance=British Army
serviceyears= 1915 - 1949
rank=Lieutenant General
commands=50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division 1943
XIII Corps 1944 - 1945
I Corps 1945
unit=
battles=World War I World War II
*Western Desert Campaign
*Italian Campaign
awards=GCB KCB KBE CB CBE MCSir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman GCB KBE MC (1895–1982) was aLieutenant General in theBritish Armed Forces from 1944 to 1950 and Director General of Civil Defence in theCivil Defence Department from 1954 to 1960.Biography
Kirkman was born in 1895 and educated at
Bedford School and later at theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich .Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London] During theFirst World War , Kirkman was commissioned as an officer in theRoyal Artillery in 1915 and was awarded theMilitary Cross during his time at theWestern Front and inItaly .New York Times archive [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E1DB1739F934A35752C1A964948260 November 7, 1982] retrieved onMarch 13 2007 ]Between 1919 and 1930, Kirkman served with the British Army in
Palestine ,Malta andIndia . He was married in 1923 and between 1931 and 1932 he attended Staff College inCamberley ,Surrey .During the
Second World War , Kirkman served as commanding officer of the 65 Medium Regiment of Royal Artillery from 1940 until 1941 at the rank ofBrigadier . Later in 1941 and 1942 he held the position of Commander Royal Artillery successively in I Corps, VII Corps, XII Corps and 56th (London) Infantry Division and was awarded anOBE .In 1942, Kirkman was appointed Brigadier Royal Artillery 8th Army (its chief gunnery officer) serving under
General Bernard Montgomery during theBattle of El Alamein inAfrica , 1942, a fact paid tribute to in Montgomery’s memoirs, and for which he was awarded aCBE . He was appointed commander of50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on promotion toMajor General in April 1943 and led the division duringAllied invasion of Sicily . After the Sicilian campaign the division was sent to the U.K. to prepare for the invasion of northwest Europe planned for 1944.Blaxland, pp.22-23]In February 1944 Kirkman was promoted to
Lieutenant-General and appointed commander of 8th Army's XIII Corps inItaly . The Corps played a key role in the fourth and final battle of Monte Cassino in May 1944 and came under command ofU.S. Fifth Army , fighting on its right wing in the assaults during the autumn and winter of 1944 on theGothic Line and central Apennines. He was invalided back to the U.K. with severe arthritis in March 1945. [Blaxland, p.248] In 1945 he took command of I Corps of the British Liberation Army operating in occupiedGermany .Throughout the period of 1945 to 1950, Kirkman was a member of Army Council and until 1947 he was Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff in the War Office, and thereafter Quartermaster General to the Forces and commander of the Royal Artillery until 1950 when he retired from the army.
Kirkman became Special Financial Representative in Germany from 1951 until 1952. In 1954 he became Director General of Civil Defence and held this post until 1960. From 1957 until 1960 he was also Chairman of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council for England and Wales. He died 29 October 1982.
Army career
1915 Commissioned
Royal Artillery
1941 Commander Corps Royal Artillery I Corps
1941 Commander Corps Royal Artillery VII Corps
1942 Commander Corps Royal Artillery XII Corps
1942 Commander Royal Artillery 56th (London) Division
1942 - 1943 Brigadier Royal Artillery 8th Army, North Africa
1943 - 1943 Brigadier Royal Artillery18th Army Group , North Africa
1943 - 1944 General Officer Commanding 50th Division, North Africa - Sicily - UK
1944 - 1945 General Officer Commanding XIII Corps, Italy
1945 General Officer Commander in Chief Southern Command
1945 General Officer Commanding I Corps, Germany
1945 - 1947 Deputy Chief Imperial General Staff, War Office
1947 - 1950 Quartermaster-General to the Forces, War Office
1950 RetiredReferences
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