(1900-02-28)28 February 1900 Acton, London, England
Died
29 June 1979(1979-06-29) (aged 79) Cannes, France
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
British Army
Years of service
1919–1946
Rank
Major-General
Service number
20274
Unit
West Yorkshire Regiment
Battles/wars
Second World War
Battle of Greece
Western Desert campaign
Tunisian campaign
Sicilian campaign
Italian campaign
Normandy campaign
Western Allied invasion of Germany
Awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Mention in Despatches (3)
Legion of Merit (US)
Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau with Swords (Netherlands)
Distinguished Service Medal (US)
Major-General Sir Francis Wilfred "Freddie" de Guingand, KBE, CB, DSO (28 February 1900 – 29 June 1979) was a British Army officer who served as Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's chief of staff from the Second Battle of El Alamein until the end of the Second World War. He played an important diplomatic role in sustaining relations between the notoriously difficult Montgomery and his peers and superiors.
A graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, de Guingand joined the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) in December 1919. He served in India and Ireland, and was seconded to the King's African Rifles in Nyasaland from 1926 to 1931. Through the intervention of Montgomery, with whom he had formed a friendship during their service together the 1920s and 1930s, he secured a nomination to 1935–36 course at the Staff College, Camberley. He served as Military Assistant to the Secretary of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha, from 1939 to 1940, in which role he had exposure to the most senior officers in the army and developed skills in diplomacy.
After Hore-Belisha resigned, de Guingand was posted to the new staff college at Haifa in Mandatory Palestine as an instructor. In December 1940, on the recommendation of the Staff College's Commandant Eric Dorman-Smith, he was posted to the Joint Planning Staff of Middle East Command in Cairo where he also took on the role of secretary to the Commanders-in-Chief Committee. In February 1942 Dorman-Smith, now Deputy Chief of the General Staff at Middle East Command, recommended him for the position of Director of Military Intelligence, Middle East. In this role he was successful, and after the First Battle of El Alamein he was appointed the Eighth Army's Brigadier General Staff. When Montgomery assumed command of Eighth Army in August 1942 he became Montgomery's chief of staff. His diplomatic skills proved advantageous when serving with Montgomery. He proved indispensable not only in battle, but also in relations with the Americans – he was "liked and trusted by all".[1] He formed a close relationship with Walter Bedell Smith, the chief of staff to Supreme Allied Commander, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, and was able to smooth over many difficulties arising from Montgomery's personality and his problematic relationships with many of his peers and superiors.
De Guingand was on sick leave on several occasions, and only Montgomery's intervention kept the doctors from relieving him. After the end of hostilities in Europe he spent time recuperating but was still not recovered when he was appointed as Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) in September 1945. Montgomery had become aware that he was to succeed Alan Brooke as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in June 1946 and told de Guingand he wanted him as his Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff. However, de Guingand failed to impress Brooke as DMI and as a result the job went to Frank Simpson. De Guingand retired from the army In February 1947 and emigrated to Southern Rhodesia to pursue a career in business, achieving considerable success. He wrote four books about his experiences: Operation Victory (1947), African Assignment (1953), Generals at War (1954), and From Brass Hat to Bowler Hat (1979).
^Beevor 2015, p. 22.
and 22 Related for: Freddie de Guingand information
Major-General Sir Francis Wilfred "Freddie" deGuingand, KBE, CB, DSO (28 February 1900 – 29 June 1979) was a British Army officer who served as Field...
course it was Dempsey's own troops. So Dempsey was stinkingly rude. Freddie [deGuingand] rang me up and said: "This is terrible, attacked our troops. I thought...
aside by Montgomery, as were those of Montgomery's chief of staff FreddiedeGuingand who went to England on sick leave. Responsibility for the failure...
commanding the Household Division 2019-present Major-General Sir FreddiedeGuingand (1900–1979), Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Montgomery, 1942–1945...
effect caused tension in the American high command. Major-General FreddiedeGuingand, Chief of Staff of Montgomery's 21st Army Group, rose to the occasion...
Doctor The Reckoning (1969) as Moyle Patton (1970) as Major General FreddiedeGuingand Cromwell (1970) as Sir Thomas Fairfax The Vampire Lovers (1970) as...
period of disenchantment." Montgomery's Chief of Staff, Major-General FreddiedeGuingand, stated in his post-war account that he had opposed Montgomery's...
World War, Volume 4: The Hinge of Fate. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-144175-7. deGuingand, Francis (1947). Operation Victory. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Delaforce...
George Francis de Gex Major-General Sir FreddiedeGuingand Brigadier Sir Ivan de la Bere General Sir Peter de la Billière General Oliver De Lancey Jr. Major-General...
appointed Chief of Staff of 21st Army Group, replacing the exhausted FreddiedeGuingand. In December 1945 he was promoted acting lieutenant-general to command...
also appointed a Commander of the Order of Leopold II of Belgium and Croix de guerre and a Grand Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau of the Netherlands...
seemed most interested in the woodworking shop. On 16 September 1942, FreddiedeGuingand, Montgomery's chief of staff, summoned Barkas and Tony Ayrton to...
he must expect no reinforcements and had authorised Major General FreddiedeGuingand to discuss evacuation plans with certain responsible officers. Nevertheless...
Airey, Joseph Charles Haydon, Geoffrey Bourne, Walter Lentaigne, FreddiedeGuingand and Charles Keightley, along with both Henry Wells of the Australian...
Geoffrey Bourne and Robert Poole, both fellow Sandhurst graduates, FreddiedeGuingand, Leonard Holmes, Stephen Shoosmith, Charles Dalton, Charles Keightley...
Commanding-in-Chief: General Sir Bernard Montgomery Chief of the General Staff: FreddiedeGuingand General Officer Commanding-in-Chief: Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey...
Richardson, Charles (1987). Send for Freddie: The Story of Montgomery's Chief of Staff Major-General Sir Francis DeGuingand, KBE, CB, DSO. London: William...
him promoted to Staff Lieutenant. Charles Richardson was tasked by FreddiedeGuingand, Bernard Montgomery's chief of staff, to plan the deception operation...
with him, the most senior being his chief of staff, Major General FreddiedeGuingand; Graham, his chief administrative officer; and Brigadier George Warren...
create a Tac HQ at 21st Army Group. His chief of staff, Major-General FreddiedeGuingand had Odgers recalled from Italy in March 1944, and gave him the assignment...
Eighth Army Headquarters at Vasto, Italy, 1943. From left to right, FreddiedeGuingand, Harry Broadhurst, Montgomery, Sir Bernard Freyberg, Miles Dempsey...
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