https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Frederick_KischFrederick Kisch - Revision history2026-07-30T16:47:55ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Frederick_Kisch&diff=373587&oldid=prevBot at 17:43, 13 October 20222022-10-13T17:43:49Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|British Army officer}}<br />
{{More citations needed|date=September 2021}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2017}}<br />
{{Infobox military person<br />
|name= Frederick Hermann Kisch<br />
|birth_date= {{birth date|df=y|1888|8|23}}<br />
|death_date= {{death date and age|df=y|1943|4|7|1888|8|23}}<br />
|birth_place= [[Darjeeling]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[British Raj|India]]<br />
|death_place=[[Wadi Akarit]], [[French Tunisia]]<br />
|placeofburial=Enfidaville War Cemetery, [[Tunisia]]<br />
|Place of burial_label= Place of burial<br />
|image=Frederick Kisch.jpg<br />
|caption= Brigadier Frederick Kisch<br />
|nickname= <br />
|allegiance= {{UK}}<br />
|branch= [[File:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]<br />
|serviceyears= 1909–1919, 1939-1943<br />
|rank= [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]]<br />
|servicenumber=4035<br />
|commands=<br />
|unit=[[Royal Engineers]]<br />
|battles=[[World War I|First World War]]<br />
*[[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|Middle Eastern theatre]]<br />
**[[Mesopotamian campaign]]<br />
*[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]<br />
[[World War II|Second World War]]<br />
*[[North African Campaign]]<br />
**[[Western Desert Campaign]]<br />
**[[Operation Torch]]<br />
**[[Tunisia Campaign]]<br />
***[[Battle of Wadi Akarit]] {{KIA}}<br />
|awards=[[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br/>[[Legion of Honour|Legion of Honour, Officer]] (France)<br/>[[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre with Palm]] (France)<br/>[[Order of Wen-Hu]] (China)<br />
|laterwork= <br />
|relations=<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Frederick Hermann Kisch''' [[Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|CBE]], [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]], [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] (23 August 1888 – 7 April 1943) was a decorated British Army officer and Zionist leader. A Brigadier, he was the highest ranking Jew to serve in the British Army.<ref name=HA>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.649065 Five new MKs must give up foreign citizenship] Haaretz, 26 March 2015</ref><br />
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==Early military service==<br />
Frederick Kisch was born to a British-Jewish family in the town of [[Darjeeling]], [[British Empire in India]], on 23 August 1888, where his father Michael was head of the [[India Posts|Indian Postal Service]].<ref name=HA/> After some time, Kisch family moved back to [[England]], where Frederick attended [[Clifton College]] and subsequently the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]].{{cn|date=May 2022}} He joined the [[Royal Engineers]] in 1909 and served with them in the [[World War I|First World War]] in France and the Middle East theatres.<ref name=HA/><br />
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During his war service, he was wounded three times,<ref name=HA/> and decorated with [[Distinguished Service Order]] for gallantry in action. He was also decorated by the government of France with the [[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre with Palm]]. Due to his wounds, he was declared temporarily unfit for frontline service and was subsequently transferred to the [[Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)|Military Intelligence Corps]], where he served for the rest of the war. He also served as general staff officer to General Sir [[George Macdonogh]]. During the war, he reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel.<br />
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He was appointed a member of the British delegation to the 1919 [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]].<br />
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==Interwar period==<br />
He joined the [[World Zionist Organization|Zionist Organization]] in 1922, where he headed the political department until being succeeded by [[Chaim Arlosoroff]].<ref name=HA/> He also served as [[Zionist Commission]] head for the [[Jerusalem]] region between 1923 and 1931. His British military background allowed him to cultivate excellent relations with the British administration of [[Mandatory Palestine]] as well as Arab leaders including [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca|Sharif Hussein of Mecca]] and his son King [[Abdullah I of Jordan]]. Kisch was awarded the [[Order of Wen-Hu]] (4th Class) by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] in 1921.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32268/supplements/2388 |title=Decorations Conferred |date=22 March 1921 |work=[[London Gazette]] |accessdate=13 July 2010}}</ref><br />
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==Second World War==<br />
Kisch was recalled to active service in 1939 at the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]]. He was promoted to the rank of [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]] and assigned to the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]], where he became commanding officer of the Royal Engineers in the [[North African Campaign]].<ref name=HA/><br />
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Kisch was killed in [[Tunisia]] on 7 April 1943 when he stepped on a landmine during the [[Battle of Wadi Akarit]]. He had been organising reconstruction of bridge, essential to the Allied advance. He is buried at {{ill|Cimetière_militaire_d%27Enfida|fr|lt=Enfidaville War Cemetery}} in Tunisia.<br />
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==Legacy==<br />
The Israeli [[moshav]] [[Kfar Kisch]] was named after him. In 2015, his grandson [[Yoav Kish|Yoav]] was elected to the [[Knesset]].<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{Commons category|Frederick Kisch}}<br />
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_K01.html#Kisch_FH British Army Officers 1939−1945]<br />
*[https://generals.dk/general/Kisch/Frederick_Hermann/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisch, Fred}}<br />
[[Category:1888 births]]<br />
[[Category:1943 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Jews in Mandatory Palestine]]<br />
[[Category:People from Darjeeling]]<br />
[[Category:Zionists]]<br />
[[Category:British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]]<br />
[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]<br />
[[Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II]]<br />
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]<br />
[[Category:British Army personnel killed in World War II]]<br />
[[Category:British Jews]]<br />
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]<br />
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]<br />
[[Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]<br />
[[Category:Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel]]<br />
[[Category:Jewish Agency for Israel]]<br />
[[Category:Landmine victims]]<br />
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]<br />
[[Category:Intelligence Corps officers]]<br />
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]</div>Bot