Brian Kimmins
Lieutenant General Sir Brian Charles Hannam Kimmins, KBE, CB, DL (30 July 1899 – 15 November 1979) was a British military commander who served as the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland District.
Sir Brian Kimmins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 July 1899[1] Hendon, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 15 November 1979 (aged 80) Taunton, Somerset, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1958 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Service number | 1294 |
| Unit | Royal Field Artillery Royal Artillery |
| Commands held | Northern Ireland District (1955–58) 44th (Home Counties) Division (1950–52) |
| Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in Despatches Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre (France) |
| Relations | Charles William Kimmins (father) Grace Kimmins (mother) Anthony Kimmins (brother) |
Military career edit
Kimmins was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now North London), the son of psychologist Charles William Kimmins and Dame Grace Kimmins. He was the older brother of Anthony Kimmins.[2]
After graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich on 28 September 1917,[3] Kimmins was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Field Artillery of the British Army, during the latter phases of the First World War.[4]
After the war he served in India and Egypt and became aide-de-camp to the High Commissioner for Egypt and the Sudan in 1928.[4] He became adjutant at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1930 and brigade major for the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division's 147th Infantry Brigade in 1935.[4] He then attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1938 to 1939.[4]
Kimmins served in the Second World War, initially as a General Staff Officer with the British Expeditionary Force in France before becoming an instructor at the Staff College in 1940.[4] He was appointed Deputy Director of Military Training at the War Office in 1941 and became a Brigadier on the General Staff of Southern Command in 1942.[4] He became Commander Royal Artillery for the Guards Armoured Division in 1943 and Director of Plans for South East Asia Command in 1944.[4] He was finally Assistant Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia in 1945.[4] On 24 February 1945, towards the end of the war, he was promoted to the rank of major general.[5]
After the Second World War Kimmins became Chief of Staff at Headquarters Combined Operations in 1946 and Director of Quartering at the War Office in 1947.[4] He was appointed General Officer Commanding Home Counties District and GOC 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division in 1950 and Director of the Territorial Army and Cadets in 1952.[4] His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland District in 1955.[4]
Kimmins retired in 1958.[4] He died at the Somerset Nuffield Hospital in Taunton on 15 November 1979, leaving a wife and three children.[6]
Bibliography edit
- At Your Service – a belated autobiography of Lieutenant General Sir Brian Kimmins KBE CB DL, Foreword by Field Marshal Lord Guthrie GCB LVO OBE DL
References edit
- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007; General Register Office
- ^ Brian Kimmins at 1914–1918.net 8 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 30310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 September 1917. p. 9994.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l . Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ "No. 37056". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 April 1945. p. 2282.
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. London, England. 17 November 1979. p. 28 – via The Times Digital Archive 1785–2008.
External links edit
- Generals of World War II