John Grover (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General John Malcolm Lawrence Grover CB
MC
(6 February 1897 – 1979) was a British Army
officer who commanded 2nd Division in Burma during World War II
.
for his service in World War I
. He became Commanding Officer
of the 1st Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1938. He served in World War II
as Commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade from 1940 and as General Officer Commanding
2nd Division in Burma from 1941. He devised and implemented a strategy to remove the Japan
ese from the Kohima
region of India
leading to the defeat of the Japanese at the Battle of Kohima
in April 1944. He went on to be Director of Army Welfare Services at the War Office
in 1944 before retiring in 1948.
He became Colonel of The King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1947.
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...
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....
(6 February 1897 – 1979) 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 commanded 2nd Division in Burma during 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...
.
Military career
Grover was commissioned into the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1914 and was awarded the Military CrossMilitary 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....
for his service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He became Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of the 1st Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 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...
as Commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade from 1940 and as 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...
2nd Division in Burma from 1941. He devised and implemented a strategy to remove the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese from the Kohima
Kohima
Kohima is the hilly capital of India's north eastern border state of Nagaland which shares its borders with Burma. It lies in Kohima District and is also one of the three Nagaland towns with Municipal council status along with Dimapur and Mokokchung....
region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
leading to the defeat of the Japanese at the Battle of Kohima
Battle of Kohima
The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in the Second World War. The battle was fought from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in northeast India. It is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".The battle took place in...
in April 1944. He went on to be Director of Army Welfare Services 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 1944 before retiring in 1948.
He became Colonel of The King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1947.