John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton

For other people named John Harding, see John Harding (disambiguation).

The Lord Harding of Petherton
Field Marshal Lord Harding
Born	10 February 1896(1896-02-10) South Petherton, Somerset
Died	20 January 1989(1989-01-20) (aged 92) Nether Compton, Dorset
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1955
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	7th Armoured Division VIII Corps XIII Corps British Forces in the Mediterranean Southern Command Far East Land Forces British Army of the Rhine Cyprus
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross

Field Marshal Allan Francis John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC (10 February 1896 – 20 January 1989) was a British Army officer and Governor of Cyprus from 1955 to 1957, Cyprus being a British colony at that time.

1 Army career
2 Cyprus
3 Retirement
4 References
5 Sources
6 External links

Army career

Educated at Ilminster Grammar School and King's College London, Harding left his studies to join the Territorial Army in 1914. During the First World War was called to the regular armed forces as a lieutenant in the Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) and assigned to the Middle East theatre of operations.^[1]

During the Second World War, Harding saw action in North Africa in command of 7th Armoured Division from September 1942 before returning to the UK in November 1943 to take command of VIII Corps and then being posted to Italy in January 1944 to become Chief of Staff to General Sir Harold Alexander.^[2] He went on to take command of XIII Corps in Italy in March 1945 arriving in Trieste just after the German surrender.^[2]

In 1946 he succeeded General Alexander as commander of British forces in the Mediterranean; in July 1947 he became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command and in July 1948 he went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Far East Land Forces; then in 1951 he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine.^[1]

From 1952 to 1955 he was Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He became a field marshal in 1953.^[1]

Cyprus

On 3 October 1955, Harding was assigned the post of Governor of the British colony of Cyprus. As Governor of Cyprus, Harding sought to restore the relations with the United Kingdom, by negotiating with both the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot communities on the island, while the British Government was negotiating with the Greek and Turkish governments. Harding took strict measures to improve the security situation in Cyprus, after EOKA declared its armed struggle against the British, on 1 April 1955. To this end, Harding instituted a number of unprecedented measures including curfews, closures of schools, the opening of concentration camps, the indefinite detention of suspects without trial and the imposition of the death penalty for offences such as carrying weapons, incendiary devices or any material that could be used in a bomb. A number of such executions took place often in controversial circumstances (e.g. Michalis Karaolis) leading to resentment, in Cyprus, the United Kingdom and in other countries.^[3]^[4]

Implementing the policy of the British Government, Harding also attempted to use negotiations to end the Cyprus crisis. However, negotiations with Archbishop Makarios III were unsuccessful and, eventually, Harding exiled Makarios to the British Colony of Seychelles. On 21 March 1956 EOKA made an assassination attempt on Harding's life which failed as the time bomb under his bed failed to go off.^[5]^[6] It was not long after this that Harding offered a reward of £10,000 for General George Grivas the leader of EOKA.^[7]

Facing growing criticism in the United Kingdom about the methods he used and their lack of effectiveness, Sir John Harding resigned as Governor of Cyprus on 22 October 1957 and was replaced by Sir Hugh Foot.^[8]

Retirement

On his return to England, Harding was made a peer. In retirement he became the first Chairman of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Heathcote, Anthony pg 170
^ ^a ^b Heathcote, Anthony pgs 169 - 170
^ "Deepening Tragedy". Time Magazine. 21 May 1956. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,808483,00.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
^ Grivas (1964)
^ "The Field Marshal's Pea". Time Magazine. 2 April 1956. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862064,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
^ Grivas (1964), p. 68 & 69.
^ Grivas (1964), p. 69
^ "Time for a change". Time Magazine. 4 November 1957. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,867862,00.html?promoid=googlep. Retrieved 4 January 2012.

Sources

Heathcote, T.A. (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736-1997. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-696-5
The Memoirs of General Grivas, by George Grivas, edited by Charles Foley. Longmans. London. 1964.

External links

War service

Military offices
Preceded by James Renton	GOC 7th Armoured Division September 1942–January 1943	Succeeded by George Erskine
Preceded by Richard McCreery	GOC, VIII Corps November 1943–January 1944	Succeeded by Richard O'Connor
Preceded by Sidney Kirkman	GOC XIII Corps March 1945–May 1945	Succeeded by Post Disbanded
Preceded by Sir John Crocker	GOC-in-C Southern Command 1947–1948	Succeeded by Sir Ouvry Roberts
Preceded by Sir Neil Ritchie	C-in-C Far East Land Forces 1948–1951	Succeeded by Sir Charles Keightley
Preceded by Sir Charles Keightley	Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine 1951–1952	Succeeded by Sir Richard Gale
Preceded by Sir William Slim	Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1952–1955	Succeeded by Sir Gerald Templer
Preceded by Sir Robert Armitage	Governor of Cyprus 1955–1957	Succeeded by Sir Hugh Foot
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Baron Harding of Petherton 1958–1989	Succeeded by John Charles Harding

Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces and Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army

Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces	Duke of Albemarle · Duke of Monmouth · Earl of Marlborough · Duke of Leinster · Duke of Marlborough · Duke of Ormonde · Earl of Stair · George Wade · Duke of Cumberland · Viscount Ligionier · Marquess of Granby · Lord Amherst · Henry Conway · Lord Amherst · Duke of York · Sir David Dundas · Duke of York · Duke of Wellington · Viscount Hill · Duke of Wellington · Viscount Hardinge · Duke of Cambridge · Viscount Wolseley · Earl Roberts

Chief of the General Staff	Sir Neville Lyttelton

Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff	Sir William Nicholson • Sir John French • Sir Charles Douglas • Sir James Murray • Sir Archibald Murray • Sir William Robertson • Sir Henry Wilson • The Earl of Cavan • Sir George Milne • Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd • Sir Cyril Deverell • The Viscount Gort • Sir Edmund Ironside • Sir John Dill • Sir Alan Brooke • The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein • Sir William Slim • Sir John Harding • Sir Gerald Templer • Sir Francis Festing • Sir Richard Hull

Chiefs of the General Staff	Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt • Sir David Richards • Sir Peter Wall

Persondata
Name	Petherton, The Lord Harding of
Alternative names
Short description	Army officer
Date of birth	1896-02-10
Place of birth	South Petherton, Somerset
Date of death	1989-01-20
Place of death	Nether Compton, Dorset