| Sir Walter Kirke | |
|---|---|
|
File:Walterkirke.jpg Gen. Sir Walter Kirke | |
| Born | January 19, 1877 |
| Died | September 2, 1949 (aged 72) (aged 72) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1896 - 1940 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held |
5th Infantry Division Western Command Territorial Army Home Guard |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
General Sir Walter Mervyn St George Kirke GCB CMG DSO (19 January 1877 – 2 September 1949) was the Commander in Chief of the British Home Forces during the Second World War.
Military career[edit | edit source]
Born the second son of Colonel St.George Mervyn Kirke RE and his wife Sarah, Walter Kirke was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1896.[1] He served in Waziristan on the North West Frontier of India between 1901 and 1902.[1]
He served in World War I as a General Staff Officer at GHQ in France and Belgium.[1] In 1918 he became Deputy Director of Military Operations at the War Office and was then moved to Aldershot in 1922.[1] In 1924 he was appointed Head of the British Military Mission to Finland and in 1925 President of Inter-Allied Commission of Investigation for Hungary.[1]
Then in 1926 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff for India moving on to be General Officer Commanding 5th Division in 1929.[1] In 1933 he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Western Command and in 1936 he became Director-General of the Territorial Army.[1]
He served in World War II initially as Inspector-General of Home Defence and then as Commander in Chief of the British Home Guard:[2] in that role he always thought that the threat of a German invasion was exaggerated.[3] He retired in 1940.[1]
He was also an Aide-de-Camp General to the King from 1937 to 1940.Army List July 1940
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ World War II: Great Britain at War Daily Telegraph, 4 September 1939
- ↑ The home guard: a military and political history By S. P. Mackenzie, Page 19 Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-820577-7
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Private Papers of General Sir Walter Kirke GCB CMG DSO can be found in the Imperial War Museum, Documents and Sound section, ref: Documents.20171 (82/28/1 & Con Shelf).
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Division Reformed (Post last held by Hugh Jeudwine) |
General Officer Commanding the 5th Division 1929–1931 |
Succeeded by Thomas Humphreys |
| Preceded by Sir Cyril Deverell |
GOC-in-C Western Command 1933–1936 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry Jackson |
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