Frank Kitson
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Sir Frank Kitson
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Birth name | Frank Edward Kitson |
Born | Kensington, London, England |
15 December 1926
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ |
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Years of service | 1946–1985 |
Rank | General |
Service number | 362061 |
Unit | Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) Royal Green Jackets |
Commands held | 39 Airportable Brigade 2nd Division 2nd Armoured Division Staff College, Camberley Land Forces |
Battles/wars | Mau Mau Uprising Malayan Emergency The Troubles |
Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Military Cross & Bar |
General Sir Frank Edward Kitson, GBE, KCB, MC*, DL, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (born 15 December 1926) is a retired British Army officer and writer on military subjects, notably low intensity operations. He rose to be Commander-in-Chief UK Land Forces from 1982 to 1985 and was Aide-de-Camp General to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1985.
Contents
Early life and education
Kitson is the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kitson and Marjorie de Pass, daughter of Sir Eliot Arthur de Pass. His uncle Frank de Pass was the first Jewish recipient of the Victoria Cross.[1]
He was educated at Stowe School.[1]
Military career
Kitson joined the army as a second lieutenant on an emergency commission in the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own).[2] He was appointed to a regular commission as a lieutenant on 10 April 1948 (with seniority from 15 December 1947),[3] and promoted to captain on 15 December 1953.[4] He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 1 January 1955 for service in the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya,[5] and was awarded a Bar to it on 23 May 1958, for service in the Malayan Emergency the previous year. The citation for the bar read:[6]
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The War Office, 23rd May, 1958.
The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Malaya for the period 31st August to 31st December, 1957:—
Bar to the Military Cross.
Captain (temporary Major) Frank Edward Kitson, M.C. (362061), The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own).
For exceptional skill and leadership as a Company Commander during jungle operations. By his devotion to duty he attained the virtual elimination of two communist party branches in a difficult area.
Kitson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours.[7] He was promoted major on 15 December 1960,[8] brevet lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1964,[9] and to the substantive rank on 31 December 1966.[10] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1968 New Year Honours.[11] He was promoted colonel on 31 December 1969 (with seniority from 30 June 1969),[12] and brigadier on 30 June 1970.[13]
From September 1970 Kitson commanded 39 Airportable Brigade, which comprised eight (frequently changing) battalions on short four-month tours. A further brigade was usually attached as brigade reserve, but this could be employed elsewhere as required.[14] On 15 February 1972 he was promoted Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his operational service in Northern Ireland the previous year.[15] According to Belfast politician Paddy Devlin, Kitson "probably did more than any other individual to sour relations between the Catholic community and the security forces" in Northern Ireland.[16] On 22 January 1976 he became General Officer Commanding 2 Division, with the acting rank of major-general,[17] with substantive promotion following on 5 April 1976 (and seniority from 2 June 1974),[18] and leading its re-designation as an Armoured Division in Germany before stepping down on 28 February 1978.[19] He was then Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, 5 March 1978 – 18 January 1980.[20][21] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1980 New Year Honours.[22] On 17 March 1980 he was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief UK Land Forces and Inspector General Territorial Army, with substantive promotion to lieutenant-general (and seniority backdated to 17 August 1979).[23] He held those appointments until 30 May 1982,[24] and then became Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces on 1 July 1982 with local rank of general.[25]
As is traditional for senior officers of the British Army, Kitson held a number of more honorary positions: Colonel Commandant of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets 1 January 1979 – 1 January 1987;[26][27] Honorary Colonel to the University of Oxford Officer Training Corps 21 July 1982 – 21 July 1987;[28][29] Aide-de-Camp General to the Queen 14 February 1983 – 1985.[30] In 1985 he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon on 19 June 1989.[31]
In retirement he has given evidence to the Saville Inquiry into Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland.[14]
On 27 April 2015, Kitson and the Ministry of Defence were served with papers for negligence and misfeasance in office by Mary Heenan, widow of Eugene "Paddy" Heenan who was killed in 1973 by members of the Ulster Defence Association, because of "the use of loyalist paramilitary gangs to contain the republican-nationalist threat through terror, manipulation of the rule of law, infiltration and subversion all core to the Kitson military of doctrine endorsed by the British army and the British government at the time."[32][33][34]
Personal life
In 1962, Kitson married Elizabeth Spencer, whose father, Col. Charles Spencer OBE, DL, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , was Colonel of the 12th Royal Lancers. Lady Kitson was appointed an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of June 2015, for her work with the Army Families Federation.[35] They have three daughters: Catherine Alice, Rosemary Diana, and Marion Ruth.[1]
Selected bibliography
He has written widely on gangs, counter-gangs and measures of deception, the use of defectors, and concepts such as pseudo-gangs and pseudo-operations.[36][37]
Books
- Gangs and Counter-gangs. London: Barrie and Rockliff (1960)
- Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Peacekeeping London: Faber and Faber (1971); Hamden, CT: Archon Books (1974) ISBN 978-0208014733.
- Bunch of Five. London: Faber and Faber (1977)
- Warfare as a Whole (1987)
- Directing Operations. London: Faber and Faber (1989) ISBN 978-0571152445.
- Prince Rupert: Portrait of a Soldier. London: Constable & Robinson (1994) ISBN 978-0094737006.
- Prince Rupert: Admiral and General-at-sea. London: Constable & Robinson (1998) ISBN 978-0094798502. OCLC 39479520.
- Old Ironsides: The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2004) ISBN 978-0297846888.
- When Britannia Ruled the Waves: The Heyday of the Royal Navy, Through the Paintings of Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kitson, KBE, CB (1877-1952). Halsgrove (2007) ISBN 978-1841145976.
Book contributions
- Foreword to Brush Fire Wars: Minor Campaigns of the British Army Since 1945 by Michael Dewar. New York: St. Martin's Press (1984) ISBN 0312106742; London: Robert Hale (1984) ISBN 0709196245. OCLC 10913533. (pp. 9-10)
Reports
- Future Developments in Belfast: By Commander 39 Airportable Brigade (December 4, 1971)
See also
- False flag operations (similar to pseudo-operations)
Further reading
- Elkins, Caroline. "The Wrong Lesson." The Atlantic (July/August 2005) Archived from the original. "Our counterinsurgency efforts abroad are starting to resemble the British Empire's."
- "The Object Beyond War: Counterinsurgency and the Four Tools of Political Competition." Military Review (January/February 2006): 13-26. DTIC ADA489124.
- Griffin, Tom. "The Military Response to Direct Action, General Kitson's Manual." OpenDemocracy (December 22, 2010)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37510. p. . 22 March 1946.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38256. p. . 6 April 1948.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40046. p. . 18 December 1953.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40372. p. . 31 December 1954.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41392. p. . 20 May 1958.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 41727. p. . 5 June 1959.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42219. p. . 13 December 1960.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43371. p. . 30 June 1964.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44223. p. . 6 January 1967.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44484. p. . 29 December 1967.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45013. p. . 5 January 1970.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45138. p. . 26 June 1970.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Bloody Sunday Inquiry website—Statement of General Sir Frank Kitson. Retrieved 28 May 2008
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45598. p. . 15 February 1972.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46807. p. . 26 January 1976.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46868. p. . 5 September 1976.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47474. p. . 27 February 1978.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47480. p. . 6 March 1978.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48100. p. . 18 February 1980.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48041. p. . 28 December 1979.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48130. p. . 17 March 1980.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48995. p. . 31 May 1982.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49055. p. . 19 July 1982.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47745. p. . 15 January 1979.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50799. p. . 12 January 1987.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49069. p. . 2 August 1982.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51009. p. . 27 July 1987.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49265. p. . 14 February 1983.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 51802. p. . 6 July 1989.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Cline, Lawrence E. (2005) Pseudo Operations and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from other countries, Strategic Studies Institute, page 1
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Military offices | ||
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Preceded by | GOC 2nd Division (Re-designated as 2nd Armoured Division from 1977) 1976–1978 |
Succeeded by Alexander Boswell |
Preceded by | Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley 1978–1980 |
Succeeded by David Alexander-Sinclair |
Preceded by | Deputy C-in-C UK Land Forces 1980–1982 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Burgess |
Preceded by | C-in-C, UK Land Forces 1982–1985 |
Succeeded by Sir James Glover |
- Use British English from October 2013
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- 1926 births
- Living people
- English people of Jewish descent
- People educated at Stowe School
- Rifle Brigade officers
- Royal Green Jackets officers
- British Army generals
- British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Counter-terrorism theorists
- Counterinsurgency theorists
- British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
- British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley
- Deputy Lieutenants of Devon
- People from Kensington