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John Dill
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John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944) was a senior British Army officer with service in both the First World War and the Second World War. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and subsequently served in Washington, D.C., as Chief of the British Joint Staff Mission and then Senior British Representative on the Combined Chiefs of Staff.
Born in Ireland in Lurgan, County Armagh, on 25 December 1881, John Greer Dill's father, also named John, (and who died when the younger John was just twelve years old) was the local bank manager and his mother, Jane, (who died just months after her husband) was a Greer from Woodville, Lurgan. With the death of both parents, "John and his sister were then cared for by an uncle, the Reverend Joseph Grundy Burton".
Always intended for a career in the armed forces, Dill, along with his sister, Nicolina Frances, attended Methodist College Belfast, from 1887 to 1889. This was followed by his education at Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. According to historian Richard Doherty, Dill's conduct at Sandhurst were "exemplary" although there "were no indications of the outstanding intelligence for which he would later be noted and his marks were described as mediocre".
From Sandhurst Dill was commissioned on 8 May 1901 as a second lieutenant into the 1st Battalion of the Leinster Regiment, one of eight Irish infantry regiments then in existence in the British Army. The newly-commissioned young officer was posted to South Africa with his battalion to see out the final stages of the Second Boer War. After the end of the war in June 1902, Dill left Cape Town with other men of his battalion on the SS Englishman in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton the following month, from where they were posted to Fermoy.
Dill, by now a lieutenant since 15 August 1903 (later antedated to 27 May), was appointed as his battalion's adjutant on 15 August 1906, having previously been assistant adjutant from 1902. Promoted to captain on 12 July 1911, and by now having "demonstrated an aptitude for staff duties", he was seconded to study at the Staff College, Camberley from 1 February 1913, and was still there on the outbreak of the First World War eighteen months later.
Staff College certainly made Dill; his talents for planning and problem solving were discovered and honed during his year at Camberley and were soon put to the toughest test of all – war.
Shortly after the war began, and after having briefly serving on the staff of Southern Command, Dill, in October, became brigade major of the 25th Brigade, part of the 8th Division, which was sent to the Western Front to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), where Dill would remain for the rest of the war. He was present at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915 and for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
During 1916 Dill, promoted in May to major, served on the General Staff of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division and Canadian Corps, before being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and Chief of Staff (GSO1) of the 37th Division in January 1917. He was moved to the General Staff at General Headquarters in October of that year, initially as part of the Training Section but was soon shifted to the Operations Section. By the end of the war he was a temporary brigadier general, having been promoted to that rank in late March 1918, and had been mentioned in despatches eight times. From the spring of 1918 he was Head of Operations at GHQ, an important promotion after the sacking of many of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's senior staff following the Battle of Cambrai. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1918 New Year Honours. He also received a number of foreign decorations for his service, including the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the French Croix de guerre, Commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, Officer of the Order of the Crown of Romania.
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John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944) was a senior British Army officer with service in both the First World War and the Second World War. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and subsequently served in Washington, D.C., as Chief of the British Joint Staff Mission and then Senior British Representative on the Combined Chiefs of Staff.
Born in Ireland in Lurgan, County Armagh, on 25 December 1881, John Greer Dill's father, also named John, (and who died when the younger John was just twelve years old) was the local bank manager and his mother, Jane, (who died just months after her husband) was a Greer from Woodville, Lurgan. With the death of both parents, "John and his sister were then cared for by an uncle, the Reverend Joseph Grundy Burton".
Always intended for a career in the armed forces, Dill, along with his sister, Nicolina Frances, attended Methodist College Belfast, from 1887 to 1889. This was followed by his education at Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. According to historian Richard Doherty, Dill's conduct at Sandhurst were "exemplary" although there "were no indications of the outstanding intelligence for which he would later be noted and his marks were described as mediocre".
From Sandhurst Dill was commissioned on 8 May 1901 as a second lieutenant into the 1st Battalion of the Leinster Regiment, one of eight Irish infantry regiments then in existence in the British Army. The newly-commissioned young officer was posted to South Africa with his battalion to see out the final stages of the Second Boer War. After the end of the war in June 1902, Dill left Cape Town with other men of his battalion on the SS Englishman in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton the following month, from where they were posted to Fermoy.
Dill, by now a lieutenant since 15 August 1903 (later antedated to 27 May), was appointed as his battalion's adjutant on 15 August 1906, having previously been assistant adjutant from 1902. Promoted to captain on 12 July 1911, and by now having "demonstrated an aptitude for staff duties", he was seconded to study at the Staff College, Camberley from 1 February 1913, and was still there on the outbreak of the First World War eighteen months later.
Staff College certainly made Dill; his talents for planning and problem solving were discovered and honed during his year at Camberley and were soon put to the toughest test of all – war.
Shortly after the war began, and after having briefly serving on the staff of Southern Command, Dill, in October, became brigade major of the 25th Brigade, part of the 8th Division, which was sent to the Western Front to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), where Dill would remain for the rest of the war. He was present at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915 and for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
During 1916 Dill, promoted in May to major, served on the General Staff of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division and Canadian Corps, before being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and Chief of Staff (GSO1) of the 37th Division in January 1917. He was moved to the General Staff at General Headquarters in October of that year, initially as part of the Training Section but was soon shifted to the Operations Section. By the end of the war he was a temporary brigadier general, having been promoted to that rank in late March 1918, and had been mentioned in despatches eight times. From the spring of 1918 he was Head of Operations at GHQ, an important promotion after the sacking of many of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's senior staff following the Battle of Cambrai. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1918 New Year Honours. He also received a number of foreign decorations for his service, including the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the French Croix de guerre, Commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, Officer of the Order of the Crown of Romania.
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