Years of service 1918–1955 Died 23 September 1971 Rank Major-general Allegiance United Kingdom | Battles/wars Second World War Battles and wars World War II | |
Born 11 October 1899 ( 1899-10-11 ) Commands held 2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)15th Infantry Brigade56th (London) Infantry Division50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division Awards Companion of the Order of the BathDistinguished Service Order & BarOfficer of the Order of the British EmpireMentioned in despatchesLegion of Merit (United States)Order of the Red Star (USSR) Unit Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) | ||
Major General John Yeldham Whitfield CB, DSO & Bar, OBE (11 October 1899 – 23 September 1971) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 56th (London) Infantry Division during the 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 commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), British Army, on 20 December 1918.
He continued to serve in the army during the interwar period, where he remained in both East and West Africa for many years. 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, Palestine, Egypt and Libya and in the final stages of the Tunisia Campaign in late April 1943. He then led the battalion in many battles in the 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. He briefly commanded the 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, commanding the brigade in the First Battle of Monte Cassino, later taking part in the Battle of Anzio. He briefly served as a Brigadier on the General Staff of 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 six months. He led the division in the attack on the Gothic Line in the latter half of 1944 and the offensive in Italy in April 1945.
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 in January 1948 and Inspector of Recruiting at the War Office in 1951 before he finally retired from the army in 1955.