Ian Gill (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General Ian Gordon Gill CB
OBE
MC
& Bar
(9 November 1919 - 23 November 2006) was a British Army
officer who became Assistant Chief of the General Staff
.
, Gill was commissioned into the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
in 1938 and fought in World War II
at the Dunkirk evacuation and at the Normandy landings and then in North West Europe. After the War he served in Palestine
and in 1957 became Commanding Officer of 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. He was made commander of Victory College at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
in 1961 and commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in 1964. He went on to be Deputy Military Secretary in 1966, Head of the British Defence Liaison Staff in Canberra
in 1968 and Assistant Chief of the General Staff
(Operational Requirements) in 1970 before retiring in 1972.
In retirement he became Director of the Thorney Abbey Restoration Fund
and lived at Thorney
near Ely
in Cambridgeshire
.
; they had no children.
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...
OBE
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...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(9 November 1919 - 23 November 2006) 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 who became Assistant Chief of the General Staff
Assistant Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
-Responsibilities:The Assistant Chief of the General Staff supports the Chief of the General Staff in his responsibilities, sets the conditions for the British Army to contribute to success on operations, ensures coherence across the 'Defence Lines of Development' and develops the Army of the...
.
Military career
Educated at Repton SchoolRepton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
, Gill was commissioned into the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1922 to 1992.It was formed in India in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards and 7th Dragoon Guards , as the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards; it gained the distinction Royal in 1935...
in 1938 and fought 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...
at the Dunkirk evacuation and at the Normandy landings and then in North West Europe. After the War he served in 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....
and in 1957 became Commanding Officer of 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. He was made commander of Victory College at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
in 1961 and commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in 1964. He went on to be Deputy Military Secretary in 1966, Head of the British Defence Liaison Staff in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 1968 and Assistant Chief of the General Staff
Assistant Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
-Responsibilities:The Assistant Chief of the General Staff supports the Chief of the General Staff in his responsibilities, sets the conditions for the British Army to contribute to success on operations, ensures coherence across the 'Defence Lines of Development' and develops the Army of the...
(Operational Requirements) in 1970 before retiring in 1972.
In retirement he became Director of the Thorney Abbey Restoration Fund
Thorney Abbey
Thorney Abbey was on the island of Thorney in The Fens of Cambridgeshire, England.- History :The earliest documentary sources refer to a mid-7th century hermitage destroyed by a Viking incursion in the late 9th century. A Benedictine monastery was founded in the 970s, and a huge rebuilding...
and lived at Thorney
Thorney, Cambridgeshire
Thorney is a village about 8 miles east of Peterborough in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, England, on the A47. Historically it was part of the Isle of Ely, which was considered part of Cambridgeshire but was transferred into the former county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and...
near Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
.
Family
In 1963 he married Dr Elizabeth Vivian (Sally) Rohr, a consultant neurologistNeurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
; they had no children.