Sir John Greer Dill – British Field Marshal

Born in Ireland on September 25, 1881, he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the early stages of World War II.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had him replaced because he was regarded as over cautious. He then became the Senior Representative to Washington during the remainder of the war.

He died in Washington on November 4, 1944 and, through the influence of United States Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall (a close personal friend) he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

His gravesite is marked with one of only two equestrian statues in the cemetery (the other belonging to Major General Philip Kearny who was killed in the Civil War). His gravesite is located in Special Section 32.

In Memory of
Field Marshal Sir JOHN GREER DILL CMG, DSO, GCB
Commands and, General Staff, who died aged 62 on Saturday, 4th November 1944.
Field Marshal DILL, Officier de la Legion D’Honneur, Croix de Guerre,
Croix de Couronne, Croix de Guerre (Belgium), D.S.M. (U.S.A.). Son of
John and Jane Dill (nee Greer); husband of Lady Dill (nee Charrington),
of Doneraile, Co. Cork, Irish Republic. Commanded British Forces in
Palestine 1936-37. Commander of 1st Army Corps in France 1939-40.
Vice-Chief of Imperial General Staff 1940. A.D.C. General to H.M. King
George VI 1940-41. Chief of Imperial General Staff 1940-41. Chief of
British Joint Staff Mission to the U.S.A. and Senior British
Representative on the Combined Chiefs of Staff from 1941. Also served
in the South African and 1914-1918 Wars.
Remembered with honour
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Virginia, United States of America.

In the perpetual care of the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

President Truman at the dedication of the memorial to Field Marshal Dill, 1950. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard