The Military Life and Times of General Sir Miles Dempsey: Monty's Army Commander

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Preface When I was first asked to write about Miles Dempsey I knew very little of him. I had studied the Normandy Campaign at Staff College, and walked the course for the D-Day landings and Operation GOODWOOD. I had heard his name and had a hazy idea of his position in the hierarchy. In that respect, I suspect I shared my ignorance with the great majority of the British public. As I came to know him better, two things became apparent to me – the first, that little had ever been written either by or about him. This was largely due to his reticence, and to old-fashioned notions of loyalty and a dislike of self-aggrandisement. Second, I came to perceive that, in addition to these admirable traits, he possessed in abundance all the military virtues – leadership based on self-confidence, a shrewd tactical brain, calmness in a crisis, total disregard for danger, and a ‘big’ personality, able to make quick decisions and stick to them. I also realized that he had played an enormously important role in the great events that shaped the world in which we now live. That he had not received his fair share of plaudits was as much due to the desire on the part of others to seek glory as to his own reticence. No biography had ever been written, largely because of the lack of source material on which to base one. He ordered the majority of his papers to be burned, and produced nothing for the public domain. But, despite this dearth of material, what I did see induced in me huge respect, not least because of the calibre of those who passed favourable judgement on him. These ranged from major figures such as Montgomery, Mountbatten, Leese, Horrocks and de Guingand to Selwyn Lloyd, a wartime soldier who went on to great things in politics, and had no axe to grind on the military front. Not only did they all agree on his unusual ability, they remained loyal for years after all military ties had been severed. It is indeed hard to find anyone with a harsh word to say about him. I was extremely fortunate to be offered by the Dempsey family a collection of letters, diaries, including trench diaries from the Great War, papers and photographs – the Dempsey Family Collection – which had never been seen before by researchers, and which enabled me to add a human dimension to the otherwise laconic official sources. I owe them, and especially James Dempsey, a great debt of gratitude. I am also grateful to Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, of the UK Defence Academy, and Dr Stephen Hart of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, who gave me much helpful advice. I am grateful to the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives of King’s College London, for giving me access to their invaluable sources, and to the Imperial War Museum, the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College Cambridge, Southampton University Library, the Joint Services Command and Staff College Library, the archives of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the National Archives Kew, for their help. I have been lucky enough to have received enormous help and encouragement from the successors to Dempsey’s old regiment, the Royal Berkshires. After many mutations occasioned by the vagaries of changing defence requirements, their records are now held by the Rifles Wardrobe Museum, Salisbury. Their staff, especially ‘Mac’ Macintyre and John Peters, led by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cornwell, have been quite outstanding in their help, and I am most grateful to them, and to Brigadier Patrick Davidson-Houston, Colonel Mike Vernon-Powell and Lieutenant Colonel David Stone, all with strong links to the Berkshires, for their unfailing encouragement. I have been privileged to interview individuals who knew Dempsey, and I am grateful to them for their insights. I am also grateful to the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum; the Royal Military Police Museum; Christ Church, Portsdown; Shrewsbury School and in particular the Head of History, Dr O’Morrogh; and all the trustees and copyright holders who have given me permission to quote from works consulted. I have endeavoured to ensure in every case that rights have been respected, and if I have erred in any respect I am ready to make suitable acknowledgement. Contents List of Plates Preface Prologue Chapter 1        ‘School’ Chapter 2        ‘Execute Orders Received’ Chapter 3        ‘Orderly Room’ Chapter 4        ‘Officers’ Chapter 5        ‘Alarm (for Troops to Turn out under Arms)’ Chapter 6        ‘Retire or Troops About Wheel’ Chapter 7        ‘Draw Swords’ Chapter 8        ‘Head of Column Change Direction Half Right’ Chapter 9        ‘Front’ Chapter 10      ‘Form Line’ Chapter 11      ‘Charge’ Chapter 12      ‘Pursue’ Chapter 13      ‘Halt’ Chapter 14      ‘Stand Fast/Cease Firing’ Chapter 15      ‘Last Post’ Chapter 16      ‘Sunset’ Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography (Note: chapter headings are named after bugle calls for infantry and mounted infantry).