Kenneth Darling

Sir Kenneth Darling
General Sir Kenneth Darling (centre) in 1968.
Born	(1909-09-17)17 September 1909 Bengal Presidency,British India
Died	31 October 1998(1998-10-31)(aged 89) Chesterton,Oxfordshire,England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1929–1969
Rank	General
Service number	44052
Unit	Royal Fusiliers Parachute Regiment
Commands held	11th Battalion,Royal Fusiliers 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion 5th Parachute Brigade 16th Parachute Brigade II Corps 1st (British) Corps Southern Command Allied Forces Northern Europe
Battles/wars	World War II Palestine Emergency Cyprus Emergency
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order
Relations	Douglas Darling(brother)

GeneralSir Kenneth Thomas DarlingGBE,KCB,DSO(17 September 1909 – 31 October 1998) was a seniorBritish Armyofficer who after serving with distinction during theSecond World WarwasCommander-in-Chief(C-in-C) ofAllied Forces Northern Europe1967–69.

Early life

Darling was born inBritish India,the eldest son of George Kenneth Darling (1879–1964) of the Indian Civil Service and his wife Mabel Eleanor, née Burgess (d. 1952). His younger brother, the future Major GeneralDouglas Darling(1914–1978), was also to become a distinguished soldier.

Military career

Upon being sent toEngland,Kenneth Darling was educated atEton Collegeand theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst,where he wascommissionedas asecond lieutenantinto theRoyal Fusilierson 29 August 1929.He served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, in the United Kingdom, before serving with the 1st Battalion in India for eight years, from 1930 to 1938.He was promoted tolieutenanton 29 August 1932,andcaptainon 1 August 1938.

Soon after the outbreak ofWorld War IIin September 1939 Darling returned to the United Kingdom where, from January−April 1940 he attended theStaff College, Camberleyas a student, and after graduating he was made abrigade majorwith the1st London Brigade,part of the1st London Division.Serving briefly as aGeneral Staff Officer Grade 2(GSO2) at theWar Office,he was an instructor at theSenior Officers' School,Wiltshire,from January−October 1941, before returning to the War Office for eight months as GSO1 Military Training. From June 1942 he wasCommanding Officer(CO) of the 11th Battalion,Royal Fusiliers.He commanded the battalion, a second lineTerritorial Armywhich formed part of the140th Brigade,itself part of the47th (London) Infantry Division.

He served in North West Europe during 1944 and 1945 and was awarded theDistinguished Service Orderon 7 June 1945 while serving with the12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion,initially as itssecond-in-commandand then as itscommanding officer.

He becameCommanderof the5th Parachute Brigadein 1946, then serving inPalestineduring thePalestine Emergency,of the Airborne Forces Depot in 1948 and of the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade in 1950.

He was Chief of Staff ofI (British) Corpsfrom 1955,General Officer CommandingII Corpsfrom 1956 and then Deputy Director, Staff Duties at theWar Officefrom 1957.He went on to be General Officer Commanding and Director of OperationsCyprus Districtin 1958,Director of Infantry in 1960 andGeneral Officer CommandingI (British) Corps in 1962.His last appointments were as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief atSouthern Commandin 1964 and Commander in Chief ofAllied Forces Northern Europefrom 1967 until his retirement in 1969.

Oxfordshire Blue Plaqueon Darling's former home inChesterton, Oxfordshire

Darling was appointed aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empirein 1969,Knight Commander of the Order of the Bathin 1963,Commander of the Order of the British Empirein 1957 andCompanion of the Order of the Bathin 1957. He was Honorary Colonel of theRoyal Fusiliers(City of London Regiment) from 1963 to 1968,Colonel Commandantofthe Parachute Regimentfrom 1965 to 1967, Honorary Colonel ofthe Royal Regiment of Fusiliersfrom 1968 to 1974 andADC Generalto theQueenduring 1968 and 1969.

In 1941 Darling married Pamela Denison-Pender (1915–1990). His wife's sister, Cynthia, was married to the soldier and racing correspondentRoger Mortimer.

Darling lived at Vicarage Farmhouse,Chesterton, Oxfordshirefrom 1958 until his death on 31 October 1998. AnOxfordshire Blue Plaquecommemorating him was unveiled on his house on 4 July 2015.

Sources

• Who Was Who.Vol. X, 1996–2000. London. 2001.ISBN0-7136-5439-2.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Norton, GG (1973).The Red Devils.Leo Cooper Famous Regiment Series. London:Macmillan.ISBN978-0330236317.