{{Short description|British Army general (1885-1960)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] |name= Sir Edward Quinan |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|KCIE|DSO|OBE}} |image= Gen Sir EP Quinan.jpg |caption= |birth_date= 9 January 1885 |death_date= {{death date and age|df=y|1960|11|13|1885|1|9}} |birth_place= [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] |death_place= [[London]], United Kingdom |nickname= [[List of military figures by nickname|"Quinan the Terror"]]<ref>Coventry Evening Telegraph, "'Terror' Quinan Dies", 15 November 1960</ref> |allegiance= {{flag|United Kingdom}}<br/>{{flag|British India}} |branch= {{army|United Kingdom}}<br/>{{army|British Raj}} |service_years= 1905–1943 |service_number=181447 |rank= [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] |commands= [[Northern Command (India)|North Western Army]] (1943)<br/>[[Tenth Army (United Kingdom)|Tenth Army]] (1942–43)<br/>[[Iraqforce]] (1941–42)<br/>Western Independent District (Baluchistan and Sind) (1938–41)<br/>[[9th Indian Infantry Brigade|9th (Jhansi) Brigade]] (1934–38)<br/>3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment (1930–32) |battles= {{tree list}} * [[First World War]] * [[Military history of the North-West Frontier|North-West Frontier]] * [[Second World War]] ** [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] ** [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]] {{tree list/end}} |awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br/>[[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] }} [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir Edward Pellew Quinan''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|KCIE|DSO|OBE}} (9 January 1885 – 13 November 1960) was a [[British Army]] commander during the [[Second World War]]. In the early part of his career, he was involved in [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] campaigns in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Waziristan]] on the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier]] of the Indian Empire, in the days of the [[British Raj]]. During the [[First World War]] he served with the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] forces in France and [[Mesopotamia]], and was wounded. During the Second World War, Quinan commanded the British and Indian Army forces in the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]], the [[Syria–Lebanon campaign]], and the [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]]. He continued serving in the Middle East until 1943, when he returned to India to command the North West Army, but retired later the same year due to a downgrading of his fitness status.
==Early years and career in Indian Army== Quinan was of [[Anglo-Irish]] descent and was born in [[Calcutta]] on 9 January 1885; his father died when he was ten years old. Although his mother later remarried, he was brought up and educated in [[Dublin]] by his grandparents and aunts, until he entered the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], in 1903.
Commissioned a second lieutenant on 9 January 1904,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27634 | date=8 January 1904 |page=182 }}</ref> Quinan joined the Indian Army ([[27th Punjabis]]) on 25 March 1905.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27813 | date=4 July 1905 |page=4635 }}</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant on 9 April of the following year.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27924 | date=22 June 1906 |page=4308 }}</ref> Before the [[World War I|First World War]], he saw active service on the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier]] of the British Indian Empire and was promoted to captain on 9 January 1913.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28689 | date=11 February 1913 |page=1061 }}</ref> During the war he fought in [[France]] and [[Mesopotamia]], and was appointed a [[provost marshal]] on 7 March 1915.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=29266 | date=17 March 1915 |page=8161 }}</ref> He served at the battles of [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle|Neuve Chapelle]], [[Battle of Loos|Loos]] and the attempt to relieve [[Siege of Kut|Kut al Amara]]; he was wounded at Beit Aisa. Appointed a GSO 3rd Grade on 10 May 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31271 | date=4 April 1919 |page=4433 }}</ref> he was brevetted to major on 1 January 1918<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30720 | date=3 June 1918 |page=6512 | supp=y }}</ref> and promoted to acting major on 2 November.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31416 | date=24 June 1919 |page=7951 }}</ref>
He returned to India and the Frontier and was a staff officer in the 1919 [[Third Anglo-Afghan War|Afghan War]] and the subsequent campaign in [[Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)|Waziristan]]. On one occasion, the aircraft in which he was conducting reconnaissance crashed but he survived unhurt. He wrote the official history of the Waziristan campaign which is considered by military experts to be the model of a campaign history. He was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] for his staff work during this campaign. In 1920, he attended [[Pakistan Command and Staff College|Indian Army Staff College]] in Quetta which is now in [[Pakistan]] and served as DAQMG [[Meerut]] from 1923 to 1926. After attending the [[Senior Officers' School, Belgaum]] in 1927, he was posted to 3rd Battalion [[8th Punjab Regiment]] (now 3 Baloch) in 1928.
In 1930, he rose to the command of 3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment and was selected to attend the [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]], an indication of his suitability for high command. While he was in command at [[Jhansi]] in 1930, [[Amy Johnson]], the famous British pilot, made a heavy landing on the parade ground during her epic flight from [[London]] to [[Australia]]. Quinan was instrumental in getting her [[De Havilland Gypsy Moth|Gypsy Moth]] repaired.
As a colonel in 1933, he was appointed an instructor at the Staff College in Quetta. Among his immediate predecessors at the college was [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck]] and his successor in 1934 was [[Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery|Montgomery]]. He then returned to Jhansi as a brigadier to command the 9th (Jhansi) Brigade.
In 1936, during the short reign of [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VIII]], Quinan was appointed [[Aide-de-camp]] Brigadier to the King Emperor<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34290 |date=2 June 1936 |page=3522}}</ref> and was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34296 |date=19 June 1936 |page=3998|supp=y}}</ref> He was posted to [[Dacca]] to assist in anti-terrorist operations against those fighting for Indian independence. In 1937, he commanded his troops in the campaign against the [[Faqir of Ipi]] in [[Waziristan campaign (1936–1939)|Waziristan]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34520 |date=14 June 1938 |pages=3820–3821|supp=y}}</ref> and was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34542 |date=16 August 1938 |page=5286}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|major-general]] at the end of 1937<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34465 |date=21 December 1937 |page=7998}}</ref> but in March 1938 he was forced to take sick leave due to high blood pressure and convalesced in [[Osborne House]] before being declared fit again for active service in July 1938<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34500 |date=8 April 1938 |page=2334}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34547 |date=2 September 1938 |page=5610}}</ref> to take up command of the Western Independent District.<ref>Mead, p. 368</ref>
==Second World War service in the Middle East== [[File:British Army Generals Archibald Wavell and Edward Quinan in the Middle East, April 1941.jpg|thumb|right|Generals Wavell and Quinan (left) meet in the Middle East]]
Quinan spent the early years of the Second World War on the North West Frontier but in March 1941, he was promoted to [[lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-general]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35144|page=2348|date=22 April 1941|supp=y}}</ref> consulted General [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Sir Archibald Wavell]] in Cairo and was sent to command the Indian Army Corps in the landing at Basra, [[Iraq]], and was appointed GOC British Troops in Iraq ([[Iraqforce]]).
At that time, the pro-German government of Iraq led by [[Rashid Ali al-Kaylani]] had tried to capture the [[RAF Habbaniya|RAF base at Habbaniya]] and force the British to leave the country. During the short [[Anglo-Iraqi War]], Quinan's invasion from the south, supported by British troops from Trans-Jordan overthrew the Axis-leaning Iraqi government and replaced it with a pro-British one. He became GOC [[British Tenth Army|10th Army]] in Persia and Iraq Command. As the [[Luftwaffe]] had used bases in Syria to support the Iraqis, an [[Syria–Lebanon campaign|operation]] was planned to invade Syria from Palestine, supported by Quinan's troops in Iraq and replace the [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] government of Syria and Lebanon with a [[Free French Forces|Free French]] one. This was completed successfully. Later in 1941, he planned and executed the [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran|invasion of Persia]]. The principal reason for this was to secure the supply lines to the [[Soviet Union]] and to protect British oil installations in Abadan. [[Reza Shah|Reza Pahlavi]], [[Shah of Iran]], was considered to be pro-German so he was deposed and replaced by his son, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].
[[File:British 10th Army Plaque.JPG|thumb|left|10th Army insignia]] [[File:EP Quinan memorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial plaque in [[Barrington, Somerset|Barrington]] Church for General Sir Edward Quinan]]Quinan's command, designated [[Tenth Army (United Kingdom)|Tenth Army]] in February 1942<ref name="mead371">Mead, p. 371.</ref> was built up as German forces advancing into the Soviet Union began to pose a threat. By the end of 1942 he had 8 divisions and two independent brigades under command (organised into two Corps) as well as the nascent [[2nd Polish Corps (Polish Armed Forces in the West)|Polish Corps]] being formed with Polish PoWs released by the Russians.<ref name="mead371"/> He was knighted in the birthday honours of 1942 and made [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35586 |date=11 June 1942 |page=2480}}</ref> and in August 1942, he was promoted to be a full [[General (United Kingdom)|general]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35730 |date=2 October 1942 |page=4335|supp=y}}</ref>
The German threat receded following their defeat at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] and Quinan's command began to shrink. By the second quarter of 1943 an Army headquarters was no longer required to control the reduced fighting contingent and Tenth Army HQ was closed.<ref name="mead371"/> In his War Diaries, the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff|CIGS]], General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]] wrote on 4 August 1942, while working on reorganizing the Middle East and Persia and Iraq Commands, "Quinan unsuitable for 10th Army to be replaced..."<ref>Alanbrooke, Field Marshal Lord (2001). Danchev, Alex; Todman, Daniel, eds. War Diaries 1939–1945. Phoenix Press. {{ISBN|1-84212-526-5}}</ref>
However, it was not until April 1943 that Quinan left the Middle East and was appointed GOC-in-C [[Northern Command (India)|North Western Army]], India. On 16 November 1943, he retired for medical reasons, a recurrence of his previous problem of high blood pressure, and returned to Britain.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36255 |date=19 November 1943|page=5090}}</ref> In November 1945, he was appointed as [[Colonel (United Kingdom)#Ceremonial ranks|Colonel]] of the 8th Punjab Regiment.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37406 |date=6 December 1945 |page=6290 }}</ref> In the 1946 New Year's Honours, he was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37407 |date=1 January 1946 |page=5 }}</ref> He retired to [[Barrington, Somerset|Barrington]], [[Somerset]], and died on 13 November 1960.
==Assessment== Quinan's renowned attention to detail was noted in his [[The Times|Times]] obituary which recorded that he "astonished, and sometimes appalled his subordinates by his meticulous attention to the duties of the smallest units under his command".<ref name="TimesObit">{{cite journal| journal=[[The Times]]| issue=15 November 1960| url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1960-11-15-15-001&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1960-11-15-15 | access-date=6 May 2013| page=15| title= Obituary. Gen. Sir Edward Quinan}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book | first=Richard| last=Mead| title=Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II| year=2007| publisher=Spellmount| location=Stroud (UK)| isbn=978-1-86227-431-0}}
==External links== *[http://www.pellew.com/Family%20Tree/Quinan%20Edward.htm#Quinan%20Edward Biography on Pellew family website] *[https://archive.org/details/operationsinwa00indi On-line versions of the "Operations in Waziristan 1919" Campaign History] *[https://generals.dk/general/Quinan/Edward_Pellew/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[[Cyril Noyes|Sir Cyril Noyes]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Northern Command (India)|GOC-in-C, North Western Army, India]]|years=May 1943 – August 1943}} {{s-aft|after=[[Henry Finnis|Sir Henry Finnis]]}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinan, Edward}} [[Category:1885 births]] [[Category:1960 deaths]] [[Category:Academics of the Staff College, Quetta]] [[Category:Indian Army generals of World War II]] [[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War I]] [[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]] [[Category:20th-century Anglo-Irish people]] [[Category:British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies]] [[Category:Graduates of the Command and Staff College Quetta]] [[Category:People of the Anglo-Iraqi War]]