Gerald Lathbury
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Gerald William Lathbury, GCB
, DSO
, MBE
(14 July 1906 – 16 May 1978) was a British Army
officer during the Second World War and later became Governor of Gibraltar
in 1926. He was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force and Gold Coast Regiment between 1928 and 1932 and went to the Staff College, Camberley
between 1937 and 1938.
He served in World War II
raising the 3rd Parachute Battalion in 1941 and the 3rd Parachute Brigade
in 1943 and then taking command of the 1st Parachute Brigade
in North Africa
. Lathbury took part in the landings in Sicily tasked with the capture of the Primasole Bridge where he was wounded in the back and both thighs, although he remained in command until reinforcement arrived. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
for this action. The citation reads:
Lathbury was still in command of the 1st Parachute Brigade during the Battle of Arnhem
, part of Operation Market Garden
in Holland. On 18 September 1944 he was cut off from his command while in the company of Major-General Roy Urquhart
when he was badly wounded in the left leg and his spine was chipped, leaving him temporarily paralysed. Lathbury was left in the care of a local Dutch
family and became a prisoner of war. He concealed his rank, pretending to be a Lance Corporal. He escaped by simply walking out of the main doors of the hospital in which he was held. The Dutch resistance put him in touch with other hiding British soldiers. Lathbury, along with Lieutenant Colonel David Dobie and Major
Digby Tatham-Warter, organised an escape across the Rhine
. Lathbury and Digby crossed the Rhine on 22 October with one hundred and thirty-seven men linking up with Easy Company
, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division
.
After the War he went to Palestine
for several years and then went on to the Imperial Defence College in 1948. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
16th Airborne Division
in 1948 and then Commandant
of the Staff College, Camberley
in 1951. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief
East Africa
in 1955 and Director General of Military Training at the War Office
in 1957. He became General Officer Commanding
-in-Chief for Eastern Command
in 1960 and Quartermaster-General to the Forces
in 1961. Finally he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar
in 1964; he retired in 1969.
He was also an ADC General to the Queen from 1962 to 1965 as well as Colonel Commandant
of both the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and the Parachute Regiment from 1961 to 1965. In 1965 he participated in the third of the series of Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions
.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Gerald William Lathbury, GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(14 July 1906 – 16 May 1978) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer during the Second World War and later became Governor of Gibraltar
Governor of Gibraltar
The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...
Military career
Lathbury was born into a military family. His father was Col. (Henry) Oscar Lathbury. He was educated at Wellington College and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Lathbury was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light InfantryOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
in 1926. He was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force and Gold Coast Regiment between 1928 and 1932 and went to the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
between 1937 and 1938.
He served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
raising the 3rd Parachute Battalion in 1941 and the 3rd Parachute Brigade
British 3rd Parachute Brigade
The 3rd Parachute Brigade was an airborne formation raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The brigade was initially part of the 1st Airborne Division, but remained in Britain when that division was sent overseas, and became part of the 6th Airborne Division.The brigade first went...
in 1943 and then taking command of the 1st Parachute Brigade
British 1st Parachute Brigade
The 1st Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade formed by the British Army during the Second World War. As its name indicates, the unit was the first parachute brigade formation in the British Army....
in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Lathbury took part in the landings in Sicily tasked with the capture of the Primasole Bridge where he was wounded in the back and both thighs, although he remained in command until reinforcement arrived. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for this action. The citation reads:
Lathbury was still in command of the 1st Parachute Brigade during the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
, part of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
in Holland. On 18 September 1944 he was cut off from his command while in the company of Major-General Roy Urquhart
Roy Urquhart
Major General Robert "Roy" Elliott Urquhart, CB, DSO was a British military officer. He became prominent for his role commanding the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden.-Early career:...
when he was badly wounded in the left leg and his spine was chipped, leaving him temporarily paralysed. Lathbury was left in the care of a local Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
family and became a prisoner of war. He concealed his rank, pretending to be a Lance Corporal. He escaped by simply walking out of the main doors of the hospital in which he was held. The Dutch resistance put him in touch with other hiding British soldiers. Lathbury, along with Lieutenant Colonel David Dobie and Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Digby Tatham-Warter, organised an escape across the Rhine
Operation Pegasus
Operation Pegasus was a military operation carried out on the Lower Rhine near the village of Renkum, close to Arnhem in the Netherlands. Overnight on the 22–23 October 1944, the Allies successfully evacuated a large group of men trapped in German occupied territory who had been in hiding since...
. Lathbury and Digby crossed the Rhine on 22 October with one hundred and thirty-seven men linking up with Easy Company
E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is one of the most well-known companies in the United States Army. Their experiences in World War II are the subject of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers based on the book...
, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
.
After the War he went to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
for several years and then went on to the Imperial Defence College in 1948. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
16th Airborne Division
16th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
The 16th Airborne Division was an airborne division of the British Territorial Army.It was raised in 1947, to compensate for the loss of the 1st Airborne Division, which had been disbanded in 1945 and the 6th Airborne Division which was going to be disbanded in 1948...
in 1948 and then Commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
of the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
in 1951. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
East Africa
East Africa Command
-History:The formation was essentially an expansion of the East Africa Force which came into being in August 1940. It was reformed as a Command in September 1941 by General Sir William Platt and covered North East Africa, East Africa and British Central Africa. It established its own intelligence...
in 1955 and Director General of Military Training at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
in 1957. He became General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
-in-Chief for Eastern Command
Eastern Command (United Kingdom)
-History:The Command was established in 1905 from the Fourth Army Corps and was based in London. Among the formations raised under its supervision in World War I was the 12th Division. Its headquarters was initially located at Horseguards in London. During World War II the Command relocated to...
in 1960 and Quartermaster-General to the Forces
Quartermaster-General to the Forces
In the United Kingdom, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces is a senior general in the British Army.From 1904 the Quartermaster-General to the Forces was the Third Military Member of the Army Board.-Responsibilities:...
in 1961. Finally he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1964; he retired in 1969.
He was also an ADC General to the Queen from 1962 to 1965 as well as Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
of both the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and the Parachute Regiment from 1961 to 1965. In 1965 he participated in the third of the series of Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions
Harold Hall Australian Expeditions
The Harold Hall Australian Expeditions comprise a series of five main ornithological collecting expeditions carried out in the 1960s and covering much of the Australian continent.-Organisation:...
.