{{short description|British Army officer}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] |name= John Yeldham Whitfield |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CB|DSO*|OBE}} |image= THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA, SICILY, ITALY, THE BALKANS AND AUSTRIA 1942-1946 NA22765 (cropped).jpg |caption= Whitfield during the Second World War |birth_date= {{birth date|df=yes|1899|10|11}} |death_date= {{death date and age|df=yes|1971|09|23|1899|10|11}} |birth_place= [[Leamington Spa]], [[Warwickshire]], [[England]] |death_place= |burial_place= |nickname= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= [[British Army]] |service_years= 1918–1955 |service_number= 26601 |rank= [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] |unit= [[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|Queen's Royal Regiment]] |commands= 2/5th Battalion, [[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|Queen's Royal Regiment]]<br/>[[15th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|15th Infantry Brigade]]<br/>[[56th (London) Infantry Division]]<br/>[[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] |battles= [[Second World War]] |awards= [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|issue=37161|page=3490|date=3 July 1945|supp=y}}</ref> (United States)<br/>[[Order of the Red Star]] (USSR) }} [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] '''John Yeldham Whitfield''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CB|DSO1|OBE}} (11 October 1899 – 23 September 1971) was a senior [[British Army]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] who commanded the [[56th (London) Infantry Division]] during the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of the [[Second World War]] and later the [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]].
==Military career== Educated at [[Monmouth School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], Whitfield was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] into the [[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|Queen's Royal Regiment]], [[British Army]], on 20 December 1918.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31140|supp=y|page=1184|date=23 January 1919}}</ref>{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}}
Unable to see service in the [[First World War]], he continued to serve in the army during the [[interwar period]], where he remained in both East and West Africa for many years, serving with the [[Royal West African Frontier Force]].{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}} Returning to England, he attended the [[Staff College, Camberley]] from 1934 to 1935,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34126|page=548|date=22 January 1935}}</ref> married in 1936, and was a [[brigade major]] with the [[King's African Rifles]] from 1937 to 1939.{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}}
He returned to England in 1942 during the [[Second World War]], where he became [[Commanding Officer]] (CO) of the 2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment in July, leading the battalion in [[Iraq]], [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]], [[Egypt]] and [[Libya]] and in the final stages of the [[Tunisian campaign]] in late April 1943.{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}}
Whitfield was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]] (DSO), "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East", on 19 August.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36138|page=3721|date=17 August 1943}}</ref> He then led the battalion in many battles in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]], including in the [[Allied invasion of Italy]] in September, followed by the capture of [[Naples]], the crossing of the [[Volturno Line]], both in October, and, fighting in front of the [[Bernhardt Line]], part of the [[Winter Line]], the [[Battle for Monte la Difensa]] in December.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/personalities/whitfield/whitfield.html|title=Major-General J Y Whitfield, CB, DSO, OBE|publisher=Queen's Royal Surreys|accessdate=15 February 2016|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912205220/http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/personalities/whitfield/whitfield.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He briefly commanded the [[169th (3rd London) Brigade|169th (Queens) Infantry Brigade]], his battalion's parent formation, in October and November 1943. In January 1944 he took command of the [[15th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|15th Infantry Brigade]], commanding the brigade in the [[Battle of Monte Cassino|First Battle of Monte Cassino]], later taking part in the [[Battle of Anzio]]. He briefly served as a [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] on the General Staff of [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]]. In July he became the [[General Officer Commanding]] (GOC) [[56th (London) Infantry Division]], rising from battalion to divisional command in the space of just six months. He led the division in the attack on the [[Gothic Line]] in the latter half of 1944 and the [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|offensive in Italy]] in April 1945.<ref name=bio/>{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}} He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in July 1945.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|issue=37161|page=3490|date=3 July 1945|supp=y}}</ref>
The 56th Division was deactivated in Austria after the war and Whitfield subsequently became GOC [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] and Northumbrian District in October 1946, [[chief of staff]] at [[Northern Command (United Kingdom)|Northern Command]] in January 1948<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |title=Senior Army Commands |accessdate=15 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |archivedate= 4 March 2016 }}</ref> and Inspector of Recruiting at the [[War Office]] in 1951 before he finally retired from the army in 1955.<ref name=bio/>{{sfn|Smart|2005|p=333}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War| first=Nick| last=Smart| location=Barnsley, UK| publisher=Pen & Sword Military| year=2005| isbn=1-84415-049-6}}
==External links== *[https://generals.dk/general/Whitfield/John_Yeldham/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef | before=[[Gerald Templer]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[56th (London) Infantry Division|GOC 56th (London) Infantry Division]] | years=1944–1946}} {{s-aft | after=[[Gerald Lloyd-Verney]]}} |- {{s-bef | before=[[John Churcher]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|GOC 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] | years=1946–1948}} {{s-aft | after=[[Charles Loewen]]}} |- {{S-hon}} {{s-bef | before=[[George Giffard|Sir George Giffard]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)|Colonel of the 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot]] | years=1954–1959}} {{s-aft | after=Post disbanded}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, John Yeldham}} [[Category:1899 births]] [[Category:1971 deaths]] [[Category:British Army generals of World War II]] [[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]] [[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] [[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People educated at Monmouth School for Boys]] [[Category:People from Leamington Spa]] [[Category:Queen's Royal Regiment officers]] [[Category:Military personnel from Warwickshire]] [[Category:British Army major generals]]