Bot at 18:18, 14 November 2022

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{{Short description|British Army general (1906–1978)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Sir Gerald Lathbury
|image=Gerald Lathbury.jpg
|image_size=275px
|caption=General Sir Gerald Lathbury, seen here as [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] (C-in-C), [[East Africa Command|East Africa]], in May 1955.
|birth_date={{birth date|1906|07|14|df=yes}}
|birth_place=[[Murree]], [[British Raj|British India]]<ref name=AIR>[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/1AirbDiv_officersL.htm 1st British Airborne Division, Arnhem, September 1944]</ref>
|death_date={{death date and age|1978|05|16|1906|07|14|df=yes}}
|death_place=[[Stratfield Mortimer|Mortimer]], [[Berkshire]], [[England]]<ref name=AIR/>
|nickname="Legs"
|allegiance=United Kingdom
|branch=[[British Army]]
|serviceyears=1926–1965
|servicenumber=34384
|rank=[[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
|unit=[[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]]
|commands=[[3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|3rd Parachute Battalion]] [[3rd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Parachute Brigade]] [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]] [[16th Airborne Division]] [[Staff College, Camberley]] [[East Africa Command]] [[Eastern Command (United Kingdom)|Eastern Command]]
|battles=[[Second World War]] [[Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine|Palestine Emergency]]
|awards=[[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Distinguished Service Order]] [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Mentioned in dispatches|Mentioned in despatches]]
|relations=
|laterwork=[[Governor of Gibraltar]]
}}
[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir Gerald William Lathbury''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|DSO|MBE}} (14 July 1906 – 16 May 1978) was a senior [[British Army]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] who fought during the [[World War II|Second World War]], serving with distinction with the British Army's [[airborne forces]], commanding the [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]] in [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Sicily]], [[Allied invasion of Italy|Italy]] and [[Operation Market Garden|Holland]]. He later became [[Governor of Gibraltar]] from 1965 to 1969.<ref name=AIR/>

==Early life and military career==
Gerald Lathbury was born in [[Murree]], [[British Raj|British India]] on 14 July 1906 into a military family, his father being Colonel (Henry) Oscar Lathbury. Returning to England, he was educated at [[Wellington College, Berkshire]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]. [[Passing out (military)|Passing out]] from Sandhurst, Lathbury was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] into the [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]] on 4 February 1926.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33130|page=887|date=5 February 1926}}</ref><ref name=lh>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/LATHBURY.shtml Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]</ref> He was seconded to the [[Royal West African Frontier Force]] and [[Gold Coast Regiment]] between 1928 and 1932 and, returning to England, attended the [[Staff College, Camberley]] between 1937 and 1938.<ref name=lh/> Promoted to lieutenant on 4 February 1929,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33469|page=1266|date=22 February 1929}}</ref> he was a captain on 21 March 1938.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34501|page=2454|date=12 April 1938}}</ref> In January 1939 he became [[brigade major]] with the [[8th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|8th Infantry Brigade]], which formed part of the [[3rd Division (United Kingdom)|3rd Infantry Division]], whose [[General Officer Commanding]] (GOC) was [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Denis Bernard (British Army officer)|Denis Bernard]] until he was succeeded in August by Major General [[Bernard Montgomery]], shortly before the [[Second World War]] began the following month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paradata.org.uk/people/gerald-william-lathbury|title=Gerald William Lathbury | ParaData}}</ref>

==Second World War==
Soon after the war began the 3rd Division was sent to [[France]] where it became one of four divisions forming the initial [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF), although there was no immediate action. On 29 February 1940, Lathbury, promoted to the [[Acting (rank)|acting rank]] of [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]], was posted to the [[48th (South Midland) Division|48th (South Midland) Infantry Division]] as a [[Staff (military)|General Staff Officer Grade 2]] (GSO2).<ref name="pegasusarchive.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pegasusarchive.org/arnhem/gerald_lathbury.htm|title = Brigadier Gerald Lathbury}}</ref> The division, commanded by Major General [[Andrew Thorne]], was a first line [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] formation which had only recently arrived in France. The [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] launched their [[Battle of France|invasion of France]] just over two months later, and the 48th Division, along with most of the rest of the BEF, was forced to [[Battle of Dunkirk|retreat to Dunkirk]], from where most of it was [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuated at Dunkirk]]. For his services in France and Belgium Lathbury was made a [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]].<ref name=AIR/> For the rest of the year the division was in [[South West England]] on [[Operation Sea Lion|anti-invasion duties]].<ref name="pegasusarchive.org"/>

In September 1941, however, Lathbury's career took a sharp upwards turn as, interested in the British Army's newly created [[airborne forces]], he was made [[Commanding Officer]] (CO) of the [[3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|3rd Parachute Battalion]]. The battalion was one of three − the others being [[Ernest Down]]'s [[1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment|1st]] and [[Edwin Flavell (British Army officer)|Edwin Flavell]]'s [[2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|2nd Parachute Battalion]]s − which formed part of [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] [[Richard Gale (British Army officer)|Richard Gale]]'s [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]], which in December became part of the [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|1st Airborne Division]], whose GOC was Major General [[Frederick Browning]].<ref name="pegasusarchive.org"/> Lathbury trained his battalion very hard over the next few months until, in May 1942, he was posted as a GSO1 to the Air Directorate at the [[War Office]].

In December, however, he returned to the command of troops when he was promoted to the acting rank of brigadier and was given command of the [[3rd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Parachute Brigade]], taking over from Brigadier [[Alexander Stanier]].<ref name="pegasusarchive.org"/> The brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division, still under Browning, was a recent creation, comprising the [[7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion|7th]], [[8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion|8th]] and [[9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion|9th Parachute Battalion]]s, all of which had formerly been infantry battalions converted into parachute battalions, along with supporting units. Created to replace the 1st Parachute Brigade after it was detached to fight in North Africa (see [[British airborne operations in North Africa]]), Lathbury, as he had done with the 3rd Para Battalion the previous year, put the 3rd Para Brigade through a series of gruelling training [[Military exercise|exercises]], before, in mid-April 1943, he was selected to command the 1st Para Brigade in North Africa, in succession to Brigadier Edwin Flavell, handing over the 3rd Para Brigade to Brigadier [[James Hill (British Army officer)|James Hill]].<ref name="pegasusarchive.org"/>

The brigade, which as previously mentioned had been detached from its parent 1st Airborne Division, had just been engaged in hard fighting in the [[Tunisian Campaign]], and had sustained heavy losses. Lathbury took part in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|landings in Sicily]] (Operation Husky), his brigade being tasked with the [[Operation Fustian|capture of the Primosole 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]] (DSO) for this action. The citation reads:

{{cquote|This officer organised and led the attack by the 1st Parachute Brigade on a vital river crossing South of Catania in Sicily on the night 13th/14th July 1943. Although dropped by parachute 1.5 miles away, from a height of only 100 feet Brigadier Lathbury reached the objective, took part in its capture and directed the consolidation, during which he was wounded. Later, during a heavy counterattack by German parachutists, he remained at the bridge where he fought alongside his troops and provided an example and inspiration which contributed in no small degree to the success of the operation.<ref>[http://www.pegasusarchive.org/arnhem/gerald_lathbury.htm Pegasus Archive – Biography]</ref>}}

Lathbury was still in command of the 1st Parachute Brigade during the [[Battle of Arnhem]], part of [[Operation Market Garden]] in the Netherlands. On 18 September 1944 he was cut off from his command while in the company of Major General [[Roy Urquhart]], the division's GOC, 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 with help of the Dutch resistance 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 [[Operation Pegasus|escape across the Rhine]]. Lathbury and Digby crossed the Rhine on 22 October with 137 personnel, linking up with US paratroopers of [[First lieutenant|First Lieutenant]] [[Frederick Heyliger]]'s [[E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Company E]] of the 2nd Battalion, [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]], part of the [[101st Airborne Division|U.S 101st Airborne Division]]. Lathbury was portrayed by [[Donald Douglas (Scottish actor)|Donald Douglas]] in the 1977 film ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]''.

On 9 May 1945 Brigadier Lathbury arrived in Copenhagen to oversee the surrender of German forces in Denmark as part of Operation Eclipse.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Operation Eclipse|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-and-eastern-europe/operation-eclipse/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=History Learning Site|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Postwar==
Lathbury remained with the 1st Para Brigade, which did not see any further action during the war, and in July 1945 returned to his old 3rd Para Brigade as its commander. The brigade formed part of the [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]], then under Major General [[Eric Bols]], and was sent with the rest of the division to [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] towards the end of the year, at the height of the [[Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine|Palestine Emergency]] (see [[6th Airborne Division in Palestine]]).<ref name="pegasusarchive.org"/>

Returning to England, he attended the [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]] as a student in 1948.<ref name=lh/> He was appointed GOC of the [[16th Airborne Division]] in 1948 and then [[Commandant]] of the Staff College, Camberley in 1951.<ref name=lh/> He went on to be [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] (C-in-C) of [[East Africa Command]] in 1955 and, returning to England, Director General of Military Training at the [[War Office]] in 1957. He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of [[Eastern Command (United Kingdom)|Eastern Command]] in 1960 and [[Quartermaster-General to the Forces]] the following year.<ref name=lh/> Finally he was appointed [[Governor of Gibraltar]] in 1964; he retired in 1969.<ref name=lh/> He was described as radiating "a serene imperturbability" by [[Joshua Hassan]], who was a [[Chief Minister of Gibraltar]]. Lathbury's composure was invaluable at the time as the politics meant there was doubts over the status of Gibraltar, with questions being asked at the United Nations. This made the locals nervous, especially as there was a de facto freeze on take home pay in Gibraltar.<ref>[[Joshua Hassan]], 'Lathbury, Sir Gerald William (1906–1978)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31335, accessed 10 June 2013]</ref>

He was also an [[Aide-de-camp general]] to [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] from 1962 to 1965 as well as [[Colonel Commandant]] of both the [[1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)]] and the [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]] from 1961 to 1965. In 1965 he participated in the third of the series of [[Harold Hall Australian Expeditions|Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions]].

==Family==
In 1942 he married Jean Gordon Thin: they had two daughters. In 1972 he married Mairi Zoë Gibbs, widow of Patrick Somerset Gibbs.<ref name=AIR/> He died in 1978. There is a [[Lathbury Barracks]] in Gibraltar and [[Jamaica]] at the [[Jamaica Defence Force]] Headquarters at [[Up Park Camp]] in [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/1AirbDiv_officersL.htm#Lathbury_GW British Army Officers 1939−1945]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Lathbury/Gerald_William/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Roy Urquhart]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[16th Airborne Division|GOC 16th Airborne Division]]|years=1948–1951}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Geoffrey Bourne, Baron Bourne|Geoffrey Bourne]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Alfred Dudley Ward|Dudley Ward]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Staff College, Camberley|Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley]]|years=1951–1954}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Phibbs Jones|Charles Jones]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[George Erskine|Sir George Erskine]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[East Africa Command|GOC East Africa Command]]|years=1955–1957}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nigel Tapp|Sir Nigel Tapp]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[James Cassels (British Army officer)|Sir James Cassels]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Eastern Command (United Kingdom)|GOC-in-C Eastern Command]]|years=1960–1961}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Roderick McLeod (British Army officer)|Sir Roderick McLeod]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Cecil Sugden|Sir Cecil Sugden]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Quartermaster-General to the Forces]]|years=1961–1965}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Leslie Richardson|Sir Charles Richardson]]}}
|-
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alfred Dudley Ward|Sir Dudley Ward]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Gibraltar]]|years=1965–1969}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Varyl Begg|Sir Varyl Begg]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Gibraltar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lathbury, Gerald}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency]]
[[Category:British Parachute Regiment officers]]
[[Category:British World War II prisoners of war]]
[[Category:Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Governors of Gibraltar]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]
[[Category:Operation Market Garden]]
[[Category:Operation Pegasus]]
[[Category:Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers]]
[[Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire]]
[[Category:People from Murree]]
[[Category:British people in colonial India]]
[[Category:Royal West African Frontier Force officers]]
[[Category:War Office personnel in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany]]

Gerald Lathbury - Revision history

Bot at 18:18, 14 November 2022