 |
General
Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor
intimately known as: "Dick" KT (1971), GCB (1947;
KCB 1941; CB 1940), DSO (1917), MC, LLD, idc, psc
Born
21.08.1889 (Srinagar, Kashmir, India)
|
Education: Wellington
College (1903-1907); Royal Military College, Sandhurst (1908)
| 18.09.1909 | commissioned, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) |
| 00.00.1913-00.00.1914 | Signal Officer, Malta Brigade |
| 1914-1918 | served European War: France & Belgium (9.1914-11.1917), Italy (11.1917-4.11.1918) (A. Sig. Serv. 15.9.1914-28.10.1916) (despatches 9 times, DSO, bar, MC, Italian Silver medal for valour) |
| 00.08.1914-00.11.1915 | Signal Officer, 22nd Brigade (UK, France & Belgium) |
| 00.11.1915-28.10.1916 | Commander, Signal Company, 7th Division (France) |
| 29.10.1916-29.05.1917 | Brigade-Major, 91st Brigade (France) |
| 04.06.1917-19.03.1919 | Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion The Honourable Artillery Company (France, Italy) (T/Lt.Col.) |
| 10.04.1919-15.12.1919 | Adjutant, 2nd Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (UK) |
| 22.01.1920-00.12.1920 | Staff College |
| 21.01.1921-28.02.1921 | General Staff Officer 3rd grade (GSO3), 3rd Division, Southern Command (UK) |
| 01.03.1921-27.01.1924 | Brigade-Major, Experimental Brigade, Aldershot Command (UK) |
| 12.02.1924-31.08.1925 | Adjutant, 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (UK) |
| 03.09.1925-31.08.1927 | Commander, Company of Gentleman Cadets (General Staff Officer 2nd grade (GSO2)), Royal Military College, Sandhurst (UK) |
| 01.10.1927-20.01.1930 | instructor (General Staff Officer 2nd grade (GSO2)), Staff College, Camberley (UK) |
| 00.01.1930-00.12.1930 | Commander, Machine Gun Company, 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (Egypt) |
| 00.12.1930-00.04.1932 | Brigade Machine Gun Officer (Egypt, India) |
| 07.04.1932-14.01.1935 | General Staff Officer 2nd grade (GSO2), Directorate of Staff Duties, War Office (UK) |
| 15.01.1935-00.00.1936 | student, Imperial Defence College |
| 03.04.1936-28.09.1938 | Commander Peshawar Brigade (India) (T/Brig.) |
| 29.09.1938-03.11.1939 | Military Governor of Jerusalem & General Officer Commanding, 7th Infantry Division (Palestine, Egypt), redesignated as: * |
| 03.11.1939-02.11.1940 | General Officer Commanding, 6th Infantry Division (Egypt, Palestine) (5.10-2.11.1940 local Lt.Gen.), redesignated as: * |
| 03.11.1940-15.02.1941 | Commander, Western Desert Force (Egypt, Syria, Libya) (from 3.11.1940-17.5.1944 A/Lt.Gen.), redesignated as: * |
| 16.02.1941-08.04.1941 | General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, British Troops in Egypt, redesignated as: * |
| 09.04.1941-06.04.1942 | Commander, XIII Corps (Egypt, Libya) (POW, escaped successfully in Dec. 1943 after 5 attempts) * |
| 21.01.1944-01.12.1944 | Corps Commander, VIII Corps (Normandy, NW Europe) |
| 00.01.1945-00.11.1945 | General Officer CommandinginChief, Eastern Command, India |
| 00.11.1945-00.05.1946 | General Officer CommandinginChief, North Western Army, India |
| 00.07.1946-00.08.1947 | AdjutantGeneral to the Forces (UK) |
| 30.01.1948 | retired |
* Dates
given are from the official personnel records. Redesignations were in effect
on other dates (see the account below).
| 00.00.1951-00.00.1954 | Colonel, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) |
| 00.00.1955-00.00.1964 | Lord Lieutenant, County of Ross & Cromarty |
| 00.00.1946-00.00.1948 | Aide de Camp General to the King |
| 00.00.1948-00.00.1959 | Commandant, Army Cadet Force, Scotland |
| 00.00.1964 | Lord High Commissioner, Church of Scotland General Assembly |
| 00.00.1952- | Justice of the Peace, Ross and Cromarty |
| 06.05.1911 | Lieutenant |
| 11.03.1915 | Captain |
| 01.01.1917 | Brevet/Major |
| 16.12.1926 | Major |
| 17.12.1926 | Brevet/Lieutenant-Colonel |
| 12.01.1936 | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| 03.04.1936 (sen. 17.12.1929) | Colonel |
| 29.09.1938 (sen. 06.01.1938) | Major-General |
| 18.05.1944 (sen. 10.08.1941) | Lieutenant-General |
| 17.04.1945 | General |
| Decorations: | WWI: Mention in Despatches (17.2.1915, 1.1.1916, 4.1.1917, 15.5.1917, 18.12.1917, 30.5.1918, 4.12.1918, 6.1.1919, 5.6.1919); Military Cross (18.2.1915); Distinguished Service Order (1917) and Bar; 1914 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal; Palestine: Mention in Despatches (15.9.1939); Palestine 1936-1939 Medal & Clasp; WWII: Companion of the Order of the Bath (1940); Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (4.3.1941); Mention in Despatches (1.4.1941, 27.1.1944, 22.3.1945); 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Legion of Honour, Commander, Croix de Guerre with palm; Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (1947); Knight of the Thistle (7.1971) |
| Literature: | Corelli Barnett. The
desert generals (London : Allen and Unwin, 1960)
Charles E. Pfannes & Victor A. Salamone. The great commanders of World War II. Vol. II: The British (New York : Zebra Books, 1981) John Baynes.The forgotten victor : General Sir Richard O'Connor, KT, GCB, DSO, MC (London : Brassey's, 1989) |
Early career
Richard Nugent O'Connor
was born in Srinigar, Kashmir in India on 21 August 1889, the son of Major
Maurice O'Connor, of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and Lilian, nee Morris.
He attended Tonbridge Castle School from 1899 and The Towers School in
Crowthorne from 1902, transferring to Wellington School in Somerset in
1903. O'Connor's military career began in earnest when, in 1908, he joined
the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In October 1909 he was gazetted
to 2 Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) based at Aldershot. He
was posted to Colchester in January 1910 where he attended a signalling
and musketry course. During 1911 to 1912, the battalion was stationed in
Malta, with O'Connor as Regimental Signal Officer. For papers relating
to the classification of regimental signallers during the Helio Sending
exercises by 2 Battalion in Malta, 1912 and the following Court of Inquiry,
see 2/1. For accounts of O'Connor's early life and schooling, see 1/1 and
1/3.
Service in World War I and
the inter-war years, to September 1938
O'Connor's early service
during World War I included periods as Signal Officer of 22 Brigade in
7 Division; Captain, in command of 7 Division Signal Company; and Brigade
Major in 91 Brigade, 7 Division. In February 1915 he was awarded the Military
Cross, and in March of that year saw service in the Battle of Arras, and
attacks on Bullecourt. In June 1917, O'Connor was appointed temporary Lt
Col and commander of 2 Infantry Battalion in the Honourable Artillery Company,
as part of 7 Division, and was awarded the DSO. The Division was transferred
in November that year to the Italian Front, near the River Piave, for operations
against Austrian forces. In late October 1918, O'Connor was directed to
capture the island of Grave di Papadopoli on the River Piave. The operation
was successfully carried out by 2 Battalion between 24 and 27 October,
and O'Connor was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Honour and a Bar to
his DSO. See 2/2/3-5 for the detailed diaries kept by O'Connor covering
his service during World War I and immediately after, and 2/2/7 for newspaper
cuttings relating to the Italian campaign. Service in the inter-war years
included appointments as Brigade Major in the Experimental Brigade, also
known as 5 Brigade, which was formed to run testing procedures for the
use of tanks and aircraft by infantry and artillery, 1921-1924; adjutant
in The Cameronians, 1924-1925; instructor at the Staff College, Camberley,
1927-1929; and attendance at the Ninth Course of the Imperial Defence College
in 1935. In October 1935 O'Connor was appointed Commander of the Peshawar
Brigade, North West Frontier Province in India. Little survives to document
this period in O'Connor's career, although confidential reports on his
progress, made by Maj Gen C B Dashwood Strettall, are held as 2/4/5-6.
O'Connor later referred to lessons learned in mobility during his time
in India, which he employed to great effect in the First Libyan Campaign.
Commander of 7 Division and
Military Governor of Jerusalem
In September 1938, O'Connor
was notified of his appointment as Commander of 7 Division in Palestine,
and on his arrival there was informed of his additional responsibility
as Military Governor of Jerusalem. The responsibility for maintaining control
involved close cooperation with the Commander-in-Chief, Maj Gen Robert
Haining, and the High Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan, Sir Harold
MacMichael, and is reflected in the wealth of surviving correspondence
between civil and military authorities. The correspondence also illustrates
means of control exercised in areas of gang warfare where, for example,
the sabotage and mining of railway sleepers and sniper attacks were commonplace.
These means of control included orders for curfews; cooperation between
the police and military, and training of the police by the latter; establishment
of tactical police outposts in rural areas, and regular patrols; special
regulations for road travel outside municipal boundaries for civil and
military authorities, and traffic control posts; detention centres; confiscation
and general control of firearms. O'Connor worked alongside Maj Gen B L
Montgomery, Commander of 8 Division, to monitor and control areas of unrest
between the Arab and Jewish communities. The papers contain much correspondence
with Haining and refer to particular incidents, including reports on the
district of Ramallah, January and February 1939 (3/3/8) and the political
situation in the sub district of Hebron, 1938-1939 (3/4/10); declaration
by Montgomery of the general policy to be pursued by 8 Division, November
1938 (3/4/4); and suggestions by the District Commissioner of Jerusalem,
Edward Keith-Roach, for alterations to the methods of government in Palestine,
February 1939. The papers also include a despatch on the operations carried
out by British forces in Palestine and Transjordan, covering action between
November 1938 and March 1939 (3/4/53), and those relating to the theory
and practice of military control (3/4/55).
Commander of 7 and 6 Division
and Western Desert Force
In August 1939, 7 (later
6) Division was transferred to the fortress at Mersa Matruh, Egypt where
O'Connor was concerned with the defences of the area in view of the massed
forces of the Italian Tenth Army over the border in Libya. Much of the
correspondence concerns the defensive system, which included anti-tank
obstacles, and machine and Bren gun pill boxes and mountings, as well as
concrete dug outs, camouflage and dummy vehicles. Other preparations included
provision for tank stepping stones and bridges (4/1/65). See 4/10/1 for
diagrams of intended defensive systems. Mussolini declared war on Britain
and France on 10 June 1940 and O'Connor was appointed Commander, Western
Desert Force, with the task to protect Egypt and the Suez Canal from Italian
attack, as well as the oilfields at Mosul in Iraq and at the head of the
Persian Gulf. The forward divisions of the Tenth Italian Army crossed the
frontier of Egypt on 13 September 1940, under the command of the Commander-in-Chief,
Marshal Rodolfo Graziani. They reached Sidi Barrani, about sixty miles
inside the border, and began to dig in. The Italian forces consisted of
one Blackshirt Division in Sidi Barrani, two Libyan divisions divided between
Maktila on the coast and the two camps at Tummar, a mobile group at Nibeiwa,
and a metropolitan division in the Sofafi and Rabia camps. At this time
the Western Desert Force under O'Connor's command comprised some 30,000
men making up the 4 Indian Division, commanded by Maj Gen Beresford Peirse,
7 Armoured Division, under the command of Maj Gen Michael O'Moore Creagh,
the Support Group, commanded by Brig W H E 'Strafer' Gott, and Selby Force.
Lt Gen H Maitland Wilson was General Officer Commanding, British Troops
in Egypt. While plans for the 'Five Day Raid', which developed into what
was to become known as the First Libyan Campaign, were being laid, preparations
for attack and provision for munitions continued. The Italians were periodically
bombarded by the Royal Navy and the RAF, so that stores and equipment could
be supplied. A letter from Creagh in June 1940 (4/1/33) includes an appreciation
of 7 Div and enemy positions, and refers to the bombing of Bardia by the
Royal Navy and operations in Giarabub; another letter to Creagh refers
to the policy of 202 Group, RAF in attacking enemy aerodromes and aircraft
rather than military targets and troops, and fighter planes as escorts
in land operations and observation rather than in strafing missions. Armoured
Fighting Vehicles were modified for service in the desert and weaponry
(4/1/73) and Bofors equipments, Boyes rifles and anti-aircraft guns were
transferred to Mersa Matruh fortress (4/1/54). A small raiding party known
as Jock's Column after its leader, Lt Col John Charles Campbell, operated
as part of 7 Armoured Division (4/1/102). Secrecy was a prerequisite to
the planned surprise attack on the Italian forces, and a letter from O'Connor
(4/1/133) criticises recent breaches in security caused by needless discussion
of objectives. The existence of a captured appreciation, dated August 1940,
by Italian 2 Division of British positions in areas including Bardia and
Sidi Omar, with map, indicates effective policing by British troops. An
appreciation of enemy position at Sidi Barrani (4/1/97) also touches on
the condition of vehicles of 7 Armoured Division, and 1 Royal Tank Regiment
(4/1/98), problems which surfaced constantly throughout the campaign. The
operations known as the First Libyan Campaign began on the night of 8 and
9 December, with Operation COMPASS. 4 Indian Division planned to break
through the Italian defences at Sidi Barrani, and head west along the coast
road, reaching Nibeiwa by the morning. The Support Group was stationed
on the escarpment, to cut off the Rabia and Sofafi garrisons; 4 Armoured
Brigade headed north to cut off the Sidi Barrani-Sollum road; and 7 Armoured
Brigade waited in reserve. The raid was a success, though letters to Selby
at Matruh and Beresford Peirse indicate the concerns over communications
and supplies (4/2/19). O'Connor then learned of the orders issued by General
Sir Archibald Wavell for the withdrawal of 4 Indian Division, to spearhead
the invasion of Italian East Africa, and its replacement by 6 Australian
Division, untrained in desert warfare. The campaign continued with the
assault on the fortress of Bardia, where the garrisons of Sollum, Fort
Capuzzo and Sidi Azeiz had rushed following attack. Bardia was beseiged
by members of 6 Australian Division and by the end of December some 40,000
prisoners and 400 guns had been taken. Letters of appreciation to Admiral
Sir Andrew Cunningham and members of the RAF highlight the contribution
of these forces in taking Bardia (4/2/26). In January 1941 the Western
Desert Force was renamed 13 Corps, and O'Connor came directly under the
command of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, Middle Eastern
Forces, resolving the problems highlighted by O'Connor in his letter to
Galloway at HQ in Egypt and referring to the 'Archipelago' plan, to capture
Mechili (4/2/32). Correspondence with Creagh in early January 1941, referring
to plans to advance to Tobruk and Mechili, indicate the need for a swift
end to the raid, and by 9 January enough troops and supplies had arrived
to launch an assault on the fortress of Tobruk. The fortress was attacked
on 21 January and 25,000 prisoners were taken, as well as valuable supplies
in the way of guns, tanks and food. The next object was Mechili, and in
correspondence with Creagh (4/2/35-36 and 4/2/38-41) O'Connor stresses
the need to contain Italian forces there. 7 Armoured Division in fact failed
in this task, and the Italian troops retreated successfully to the north
west during the nights of 26 and 27 January. The First Libyan Campaign
ended with the pursuit and ultimate defeat of the retreating Italian forces,
culminating in the battle at Beda Fomm on 6 February. The British forces
had covered 500 miles in ten weeks, taking a total of 130,000 Italian and
Libyan soldiers prisoner. The cable sent to Wavell recorded the victory
with the term, 'Fox killed in the open...'. Copies of minutes of
meetings of the War Cabinet Defence Committee (Operations) in 4/4/- illustrate
the discussions leading to the decision to assist Greece in the German
offensive, rather than advance to Tripoli. The papers include the retrospective
views of O'Connor (4/4/8). Manuscript accounts written by O'Connor during
his confinement in prison in Italy (and smuggled out by Colonel Fiske,
US Military Attache in Rome) include details of plans and offensives, and
factors influencing the campaign, including the use of surprise and administrative
problems. They also touch on O'Connor appointment as General Officer Commanding,
British Troops in Egypt and his recall in April 1941 in order to assist
Lt Gen Sir Philip Neame following the German attack on Cyrenaica. See 4/3/15
and 4/3/21 for accounts by Neame and Lt Col J F B Combe, Cdr of 11 Hussars,
of the desert campaign.
Prisoner of War, Castle Vincigliata,
Florence in Italy
O'Connor and Neame were
captured by a German reconnaissance night patrol on 7 April 1941, and O'Connor
spent the next two and a half years as a Prisoner of War, mainly in Castle
Vincigliata, near Florence in Italy. O'Connor found himself in impressive
company, fellow inmates including Maj Gen Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart and
Air Vice Marshal O T Boyd. Escape plans were quickly laid, and the escape
narratives (4/5/1 and 4/5/2) closely document, with the aid of plans, the
first attempt, over the castle walls and subsequent month's solitary confinement.
The second initially successful attempt, via the escape tunnel constructed
between October 1942 and March 1943, was made in the company of de Wiart.
The two were captured in the region of the Po Valley, Bologna while Brig
Combe and AVM Boyd reached Como. Fellow inmates Brigs Miles and James Hargest
secured their escape by journeying to Switzerland. The final and successful
escape was made after the Italian surrender. Following unsuccessful attempts
at a rendezvous with a submarine at Cattolica and Cervia, O'Connor arrived
by boat at Termoli and transferred to Bari as the guest of General Alexander
on 21 December 1943. See 4/5/4, 'After Vincigliata' the narrative of events
after the Italian surrender. O'Connor maintained links in later life made
with members of the Italian resistance, who had sheltered him during his
escape.
Commander, 8 Corps and Operation
OVERLORD
O'Connor was immediately
appointed Commander, 8 Corps as of 21 January 1944. The Corps comprised
Guards and 11 Armoured Division, commanded by Maj Gen Allan Adair and Maj
Gen G P B Roberts, 15 (Scottish) Infantry Division commanded by Maj Gen
G H A MacMillan, 6 Guards Tank Brigade commanded by Brig G L Verney, 8
Army Group Royal Artillery commanded by Brig A P Campbell and 2 Household
Cavalry Regiment commanded by Lt Col Henry Abel Smith. Correspondence documents
the training and exercises in Yorkshire,and preparations leading to Operation
OVERLORD, the planned invasion of Europe, particularly Operation EAGLE,
February 1944, concerning the low standard of water discipline (5/2/20).
Other papers highlight the need for training in the use of anti-mine devices
and mine clearing apparatus, including the Flail and Conger tanks (5/2/36).
Correspondence with Sir Winston Churchill in April and May, following the
PM's inspection of Guards Armoured Division, discusses the armour protection
of Cromwell and Sherman tanks, and the escape hatches of the Cromwell tanks
(5/2/39 and 5/4/5). 8 Corps HQ transferred to Normandy on 11 June 1944.
The first major attack which followed was codenamed Operation EPSOM, to
break out of the existing bridgehead on the front of 3 Canadian Division
and to cross the Rivers Odon and Orne, securing a position on high ground
north east of Bretteville-sur-Laize and dominating exits from Caen to the
south. A letter to Maj Gen R F L Keller commends the reconnaissance patrols
by 3 Canadian Division (5/3/11) and a letter from Montgomery, 21 Army Group,
congratulates O'Connor and the Corps on the attack on the Odon Valley (5/4/10).
The British had secured a bridgehead in the Caen area, but failed to encircle
the town. Consolidation of ground taken was necessary, and in a letter
to Maj Gen R K Ross, Commander of 53 (Welsh) Division, O'Connor urges the
provision of adequate anti-tank defences, including trenches, mines and
wiring (5/3/13). The advance continued with orders for 43 (Wessex) Division
to secure Hill 112 in Operation JUPITER, 8 Corps attack towards the Upper
Orne. O'Connor wrote to the Commander, Maj Gen I G Thomas, in appreciation
of their achievements on 11 July 1944 (5/3/15). 8 Corps moved into reserve
immediately after, when 12 Corps, commanded by General Neil Ritchie, took
over the sector. O'Connor was put in charge of the next advance, Operation
GOODWOOD MEETING, with plans for 8 Division to attack southwards and establish
an armoured division in the area Bourguebus-Vimont-Bretteville sur Laize.
In a letter of thanks to Abel-Smith (5/3/19) O'Connor praises the work
of 2 Household Cavalry Regiment in controlling the movement of the Corps
from the west to the east bank of the Orne at the outset of the Operation.
The attack began on 18 July with an aerial bombardment by 9 USAAF
and was ended on 20 July with a successful three pronged drive to capture
Bras and Hubert Folie on the right, le Poirier on the left and Four and
Bourguebus in the centre. See The Forgotten Victor for a full account of
the battle. Plans for Operation BLUECOAT, the attack towards Vire in July
1944, were quickly formulated and on 29 July O'Connor wrote to MacMillan
concerning plans for 15 (Scottish) Division to attack enemy ground east
and west of the Bois du Homme, in order to facilitate American advance
into Normandy (5/3/25). Fierce fighting followed a swift drive south during
the first two days of the advance, and both sides sustained heavy casualties.
As the allies prepared to pursue the German armies from France, O'Connor
learned that 8 Corps would not take part in this phase of the campaign.
His command was reduced in mid-August, with the transfer of 11 Armoured
Division to 30 Corps and 15 (Scottish) Division to 12 Corps. In a letter
to his close friend Lt Gen Sir John Harding, Chief of Staff, Allied Armies
in Italy, O'Connor summarized the three main 8 Corps operations, to capture
the bridgehead over the Odon; to surround Caen and enable its capture by
Canadian troops; and the advance to Caumont (5/3/37). While in reserve,
O'Connor became concerned with the need for armoured vehicles for the transport
of infantry, and in letters to Maj Gen Sir Percy Hobart, Lt Gen M C Dempsey
and Montgomery he recommends the supply of Ram Chassis for the purpose
(5/3/41-42). These requests were successful, since in a letter of 4 October
to Dempsey he refers to the arrival in Ostend of converted armoured carriers,
and further requests a supply of these and Priest vehicles from Bayeux
for use as carriers (5/3/58). In a letter to Maj Gen J F Evetts dated 16
October, O'Connor suggests the modification of armoured vehicles such as
Priests, Rams and Cromwells (5/4/52), and in another letter to Evetts at
the Ministry of Supply in London he refers to German superiority in armoured
infantry carriers (5/3/85). Equipment wastage in 8 Corps throughout Operations
EPSOM, JUPITER, GOODWOOD MEETING, BLUECOAT and GROUSE, 15 July to 17 August,
is also detailed (5/3/46). Troops suffering from battle exhaustion also
became a significant issue in the campaign. Cases of feigned battle exhaustion
were suspected, and in a letter to Maj Gen I G Thomas of 43 Division and
MacMillan dated July 1944, O'Connor recommends disciplinary action against
offenders (5/3/18). A top secret and personal letter from MacMillan dated
22 July refers to the creation of the Divisional Exhaustion Centre, with
comments on the numbers admitted (5/4/14). Another letter from Roberts
dated 1 November includes statistics for cases of troops missing, battle
exhaustion and desertion for units of 11 Armoured Brigade, 19 September
to 19 October (5/3/84). O'Connor retained command of 8 Corps and next saw
action during September 1944 in support of 30 Corps, commanded by Lt Gen
B G Horrocks, in Operation MARKET GARDEN, the allied operation to establish
a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands. The advance by 8 Corps
lead to the capture of two Dutch towns, Helmond and Deurne. In a letter
to Maj Gen L G Whistler, dated 15 September (5/3/53) O'Connor outlines
a possible forecast of operations for the following days, including the
construction of bridges over Escaut and the Meuse Junction canal, and the
capture of Soerendonck and Weert. In letters to Whistler and Roberts (5/3/53)
he refers to plans for the occupation by 3 Division of Deurne, Genert and
Helmond, and necessary maintenance routes. 8 Corps next took part in Operation
CONSTELLATION, the advance to take Venraij and then Venlo, which began
on 12 October. O'Connor, in a letter to Brig C M Barber, Commander of 15
Division, criticises unnecessary breaches in security (5/4/50). CONSTELLATION
began successfully with the capture of Venraij and the collapse of German
defences, and effectively ended with the unexpected transfer of 15 Division
to operations in the Scheldt estuary. Attacks by the German forces continued
at the end of October notably on 7 US Armoured Division at Meijel, and
in letters of 27 and 30 October to Maj Gen Lindsay Silvester, Commander,
O'Connor urges provision for active patrols in the area and stresses the
need to defend Weert and Nedeweert, and the destruction of the nearby footbridge
over the canal (5/3/77 and 5/3/83). After his transfer to India, O'Connor
stayed in touch with members of the Corps and received accounts of advances
made. Some of the most detailed letters are from Serjeant J S Green, including
8 Corps' crossing of the Elbe, the advance into Germany and occupation
of Plon in Schleswig-Holstein (5/4/94), and from Barker, including an account
of Operation PLUNDER (5/4/95).
GOC-in-C, Eastern Army in
India
O'Connor first heard rumours
of his possible transfer to India in September 1944. A letter to him dated
4 September from Montgomery refutes any likelihood of this happening (5/4/40),
but on 27 November he received orders to take over from Lt Gen Sir Mosely
Mayne. In November 1945 he was appointed GOC-in-C, North Western Army.
Little survives to document this period in O'Connor's career, though a
letter from Sir George Cunningham, Governor of the North-West Frontier
Province describes likely developments in the Indian Army and government
of India following independence.
Adjutant General to the Forces
O'Connor's appointment as
Adjutant General was announced in May 1946 and he took over in July. Much
time was spent visiting British troops stationed abroad, including the
Far East and India. However, O'Connor's career as Adjutant General was
to be short lived. Following a disagreement over the cancellation of demobilization
for troops stationed in the Far East, O'Connor offered his resignation
in August 1947, which was accepted. Correspondence including that with
Montgomery, CIGS during August to September 1947 documents the events behind
the resignation (7/19).
Retirement
Despite his retirement at
the age of fifty eight, O'Connor maintained links with the Army and took
on other responsibilities. He was Commandant of the Army Cadet Force, Scotland
from 1948 to 1959, Colonel of the Cameronians, 1951-1954, and Justice of
the Peace and Lord Lieutenant for Ross and Cromarty, 1952 and 1955 1964
respectively. Following the death of his wife Jean in 1959, he married
Dorothy Russell in 1963. In July 1971 he was created Knight of the Thistle.
He died on 17 June 1981 in London.
[Taken
from: King's College London Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives,
PAPERS OF GENERAL SIR RICHARD O'CONNOR KT, GCB, DSO, MC (1889-1981), http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/cats/oconnor/ocon00.htm]
Additional sources: D-Day Enc