Frederick E. Morgan
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Edgeworth Morgan KCB
(5 February 1894 – 19 March 1967) was a British Army
officer who fought in the First World War and the Second World War. He is best known as the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), the original planner of Operation Overlord
.
A graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant
in the Royal Field Artillery
in 1913. During the First World War he served on the Western Front
as an artillery subaltern and staff officer. Afterwards he served two long tours with the British Army in India
.
In 1939, Morgan was promoted to brigadier
and assumed command of the 1st Support Group of the 1st Armoured Division, which he led during the Battle of France
. In May 1942 he was became a lieutenant general and given command of the I Corps. Morgan's headquarters was designated Force 125, and given the task of dealing with a German
thrust through Spain
to Gibraltar
that never occurred. In March 1943 he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander
(Designate), or COSSAC. As COSSAC he directed the planning for Operation Overlord
. When General
Dwight Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander, Morgan became Deputy Chief of Staff to Major General
Bedell Smith
at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
(SHAEF).
After the war, Morgan served as Chief of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
(UNRRA) in Germany until his position in Germany was eliminated following publication of "off the record" comments concerning incompetence and corruption within UNRRA, including diverting the resources of UNRRA to the support of Zionist ambitions to further political ambitions. In 1951, Morgan became Controller of Atomic Energy, and was present for Operation Hurricane
, the first British atomic weapons
tests at the Montebello Islands
in 1952. His position was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
but he remained as Controller of Nuclear Weapons until 1956.
, Kent
on 5 February 1894, the eldest son amongst the nine children of Frederick Beverley Morgan, a timber importer, and his wife Clare Elizabeth née Horrocks. He commenced his education at Hurstleigh, a private school in Tunbridge Wells in 1902. At an early age it was decided that Frederick would become a British Army
officer, and in 1907 he entered Clifton College
, a school noted for its connections with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. At Clifton he played rugby
and cricket
, and served in the School Cadet Corps, which became the Officers' Training Corps in 1908. As a cadet sergeant
, he was one of many who lined the route to Buckingham Palace
for the Coronation of George V of the United Kingdom in 1911. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant
. Morgan duly passed the entrance examination for Woolwich, which he entered in 1912.
Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery
on 17 July 1913, and joined 41st Battery, 42nd Brigade
, Royal Field Artillery
at Aldershot
. He volunteered for service in India
, and in January 1914 departed on the British-India Steam Navigation Company
troopship Rewa
, joining the 84th Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, which was stationed in Jubbulpore.
in October 1914 as part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division
. Morgan suffered a near-miss from a German 5.9-inch gun
which blew him into the air and buried him in a shell hole, and he was evacuated to hospital in Boulogne with shell shock
. He was granted a short sick leave in England only to be present when news reached his family that his brother had been killed in action. On returning to the front, Morgan became aide-de-camp
to Brigadier General
Edward Spencer Hoare-Nairne, the commander of the Lahore Divisional Artillery. The artillery remained on the Western Front when the bulk of the division departed for the Mesopotamian campaign
. As it took longer to train artillery than infantry, the Lahore divisional artillery acted in turn as the artillery of the 2nd Canadian Division
, 3rd Canadian Division
, 4th Australian Division and finally the 4th Canadian Division
until their own artillery was sufficiently trained to take over.
Morgan became a staff captain in February 1916, and was promoted to the temporary rank of captain
in May 1916. The Lahore divisional artillery was broken up in mid-1917 and Morgan was posted to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division
as a staff captain. On 15 August 1917, he married Marjorie Cecile Whaite, the daughter of Colonel
Thomas du Bédat Whaite of the Army Medical Services
. The couple had met on board the Rewa en route to India in 1914. Their marriage produced two daughters and a son. During the Hundred Days Offensive
he served as brigade major of the 42nd Divisional Artillery. During the war he was twice mentioned in dispatches
, on 15 May 1917, and again on 5 July 1919.
at Deepcut
, where it was forming and training for service in the subcontinent. Later that year the brigade moved to its new station at Jhansi
. After three years Morgan was posted to Attock
, where he commanded the Divisional Ammunition Column. In 1924 he accepted a temporary staff posting as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG) of Major General Sir Herbert Uniacke's 1st (Peshawar) Division
at Murree
. This was immediately followed in 1925 by a year's secondment to the headquarters of Lieutenant General Sir Claud Jacob
's Northern Command, where Morgan helped plan and direct large-scale manoeuvres.
Morgan returned to England in 1926, and assumed command of the 22nd Heavy Battery. Equipped with a mixture of 9.2 inch guns, 6 inch guns
, 12 pounders
and 6 pounders
, it was responsible for the coastal defences of Weymouth, Dorset. Still a captain, Morgan hoped that his next career move would be to attend the Staff College, Camberley
, having narrowly passed the entrance examination. Instead, he was offered a place at the Staff College, Quetta, requiring a return trip to India. Morgan's classmates at Quetta in 1927 and 1928 included William Slim
, John Crocker
, Kenneth Anderson
, David Cowan
, George Alan Vasey and Tommy Burns
. After graduation, Morgan was posted to the 70th Field Battery at Lucknow
, and then was artillery staff officer at headquarters Western Command
, under Brigadier
Henry Karslake. When Karslake became Major General, Royal Artillery, at GHQ India in 1931, he brought Morgan to Delhi
to serve with him as General Staff Officer (Grade 2). Morgan was finally promoted to major
in 1932 and brevet lieutenant colonel
in 1934.
Returning to England in 1934, Morgan assumed command of the 4th Antiaircraft Battery, which was deployed to Malta
during the diplomatic crisis that accompanied the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. He served in the War Office
from 1936 to 1938. Here he became increasingly disturbed at the lack of urgency that the government displayed in the face of a war that Morgan and his fellow staff officers felt was inevitable and imminent. That year he was promoted to colonel
and became General Staff Officer (Grade 1) of the 3rd Division, in which Brigadier Bernard Montgomery commanded a brigade.
and a Territorial battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers
, which was in the process of converting to an antiaircraft/antitank regiment and armed only with antitank guns. His group was in no position to fulfill its normal role supporting the division's armoured brigades and so was sent to reinforce 51st (Highland) Division south of the river Somme. During a confused retreat most of the Support Group was captured along with the 51st Division at Saint-Valery-en-Caux
but the remainder, including Morgan, got away and were evacuated to England.
The 1st Armoured Division was reformed, and became a mobile reserve in south eastern England, with the task of counter attacking an invading German army. The 1st Support Group being given two Canadian infantry battalions for the purpose. In November 1940 Morgan was appointed Brigadier General Staff at II Corps, based in Norfolk
. Morgan was promoted to major general in 1941 and given command of the Devon and Cornwall County Division, a static formation created for coastal defence. In October he assumed command of the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, a second line territorial formation.
In May 1942 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and given command of the I Corps District, which included Lincolnshire
and the East Riding of Yorkshire
. In October of that year his headquarters became a mobile formation, was redesignated I Corps and placed under Lieutenant General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
. Morgan's corps headquarters, designated Force 125, with the 1st Division and 4th Division
, was given the task of dealing with a German
thrust through Spain
to Gibraltar
. When this operation proved unnecessary, his divisions were sent to North Africa, while he was directed to plan the invasion of Sardinia
. In time this was abandoned in favour of the Allied invasion of Sicily
. I Corps headquarters remained in the United Kingdom the whole time, located at 1 Cumberland near Marble Arch
, with the headquarters mess
in the Lyons Marble Arch Corner House
. However, it gained considerable experience in operational planning. Morgan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 June 1943.
agreed to establish a staff to plan operations in north west Europe in 1944. As it was envisaged that the Supreme Allied Commander
would be British, it was decided to appoint a British Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander
(Designate) (COSSAC), with an American deputy. In March 1943 Morgan became COSSAC. Brigadier General Ray Barker
became his American deputy. Initially, Morgan's staff consisted of an aide, two batmen and a driver with a car purloined from I Corps headquarters. Morgan established headquarters in Norfolk House
at 31 St James's Square. However by October 1943, it was clearly too small for COSSAC needs, which called for accommodation for a staff of 320 officers and 600 other ranks. In November and December part of the staff moved to the South Rotunda
, a bombproof structure that had originally been fitted up as an anti-invasion base, which was connected to the various ministries by the Whitehall Tunnel
. Other staff were accommodated at 80 Pall Mall
.
COSSAC was charged with planning three operations: Operation Cockade
, a deception
operation to keep German forces pinned to the coast; Operation Rankin, a plan for measures to be taken in the case of a sudden German collapse; and Operation Overlord
, a plan for a full-scale assault on north western Europe. Morgan and his staff worked on the Overlord plan throughout June and the first half of July 1943. Morgan presented it to the Chiefs of Staff Committee
on 15 July. The plan set forth in detail the conditions under which the assault could be made, the area where a landing would be feasible, and the means by which it would be developed.
On 28 July, a group of the COSSAC staff, headed by Barker travelled to Washington D.C. to present the Overlord plan to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
, and to confer with the U.S. War Department
about the troop basis for the operation and issues related to its civil affairs
and logistics
aspects. Missions were also exchanged with Eisenhower's Allied Force Headquarters in Algiers
to coordinate the plans of offensive action in the Mediterranean and North West Europe in 1944. In October and November, Morgan went to Washington, to discuss the operation with the Combined Chiefs of Staff, accompanied only by Major General Nevil Brownjohn
and an aide. Morgan met with General George Marshall
, who instructed him to proceed with planning on the basis that Marshall would be Supreme Allied Commander and Morgan his chief of staff. Morgan met with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
at the White House
. Roosevelt turned down Morgan's request for the services of Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
to assist with Civil Affairs, and also cast doubt on whether Marshall could be spared to become Supreme Allied Commander. While in the United States Morgan visited the Gettysburg Battlefield
and the training camps at Camp Carrabelle, Fort Benning
, Camp Mackall
and Fort Bragg
.
The Combined Chiefs of Staff authorised Morgan to issue orders in the name of the Supreme Allied Commander to the Commanders in Chief of the Air, Naval and Land Forces, even though they outranked him. When Montgomery was appointed Commander in Chief Land Forces for the invasion, in December 1943, he declared that Morgan's original plans were unworkable; they had originally been limited by the availability of landing craft, but Montgomery insisted it would require more men attacking over a wider front. Ultimately, more landing craft were obtained and the invasion was scaled up to Montgomery's satisfaction, at the cost of a month's delay and a reduction in the Southern France operation
. However, all the key features of Morgan's plan remained- the choice of Normandy
as the assault area, the use of Mulberry harbour
s, the deployment of American forces on the right and British on the left, the use of airborne troops to cover the flanks, and some form of diversionary operation in Southern France.
, Major General Bedell Smith
, and moved the headquarters to Bushey Park. Morgan was offered command of a corps in Italy
but declined in favour of becoming one of Smith's three deputies. His responsibilities covered Intelligence and Operations. Morgan coordinated the work of various SHAEF divisions and deputised for Bedell Smith when he was absent.
Morgan also was called upon on occasion to deal with Montgomery, with whom his professional relationship as Deputy Chief of Staff was similar to that before the war when Montgomery was a brigade commander. On one occasion Morgan was summoned to Smith's office to find him white with rage at a telephone receiver. "That's your bloody marshal on the other end of that," Smith explained. "I can't talk to him any more. Now you go on." "As the campaign progressed," Morgan late wrote, "it became more difficult for us British at SHAEF to provide explanation, as we were continually called upon to do, for the attitude and behaviour of the British authorities as exemplified by their chosen representative in the field." Senior British officers at SHAEF, notably Morgan, Kenneth Strong
and Jock Whiteley remained loyal to Eisenhower. This cast a pall over their careers after the war, when Montgomery became Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
After the war Smith described Morgan as his British alter ego, "a man I wouldn't willingly have dispensed with." Morgan served in this role until SHAEF was dissolved in June 1945. He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in August 1944 "in recognition of distinguished services in connection with the invasion of Normandy". The United States government awarded him the Legion of Merit
in April 1945, and the Distinguished Service Medal
in 1948 for his services. He was also Colonel Commandant
of the Royal Artillery from 1948 to 1958.
(UNRRA) in Germany. He applied his energy and planning skills to the problem of providing relief to millions of refugees and displaced persons in Europe in the wake of the war. However he became frustrated with the inefficiency of the United Nations organisation, and events in the British–Zionist conflict in the British Mandate for Palestine made him feel conflicted betweens his role in assisting Jewish refugees at UNRRA, whom he regarded as special victims of the Nazis for being persecuted solely for their race, and supporting British policy as a British Army officer. In January 1946 he created a furore by claiming at a press conference that there was a secret Zionist organisation that was attempting to facilitate an "exodus" of Jewish people from Europe to a new state in Palestine with Soviet encouragement. He later wrote:
A correspondent reported that Morgan made "casual observations based on what he saw... but the controversial remarks were taken out of the context and put together by correspondents." UNRRA expected that Morgan would offer his resignation but he did not do so. An attempt to clarify his position "off the record" failed, and Morgan's position in Germany was eliminated by UNRRA Director Fiorello La Guardia.
Morgan's statements caused a furor in the press, which portrayed them as antisemitic and distasteful. However, Morgan's comments were factual, based on military intelligence. It was reported at the time in Time magazine that: "Observers here [in Berlin]... are positive of [Morgan's] sincerity, and know he had no intention of feeding the fires of anti-Semitic propaganda." Archibald MacLeish
, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
, stated that when the press had finished with Sir Frederick, "..the sum total effect was a lie and a disastrous and evil lie. This brings up the question of journalistic standards. In a world as closely integrated as this one is, the question must be asked: what is the standard of truth in journalism? When the journalist is dealing with an inflammatory subject and so reports it that verbally his story is true, but the overall effect is false, are the standards of truth satisfied?"
Morgan, coming from his military background, was appalled at the corruption, inefficiency and political diversion of UNRRA. A member of his staff said that "to serve such an outfit is degradation beyond description. In fact, [Morgan wrote], to have been rejected for such service I have always felt to have been a high honour."
as Controller of Atomic Energy. The position had been created in January 1946 as "Controller of Production, Atomic Energy" when the Ministry of Supply
had assumed responsibility for nuclear weapon
s. The job, the title of which was changed to "Controller Atomic Energy" in 1950, had no written terms of reference, but carried broad responsibility for the coordination of all aspects of nuclear weapons production. Although located within the Ministry of Supply, the controller had direct access to the Prime Minister, although Portal rarely exercised this. It was widely believed that Morgan, who was "amiable but not adequate to the task", had been appointed by mistake, having been confused with his namesake, General Sir William Duthie Morgan
. The latter had greatly impressed Prime Minister Clement Attlee
as Army member of the Joint Staff Mission to the United States from 1947 to 1950. Morgan therefore relied heavily on his key subordinates, Sir John Cockcroft
, William Penney
, and Christopher Hinton
.
In his role as Controller of Atomic Energy, Morgan was present for Operation Hurricane
, the first British atomic weapons
tests at the Montebello Islands
in October 1952. His position was gradually reduced to a figurehead, with his authority largely supplanted by the Atomic Energy Board, which was chaired by Lord Cherwell, and was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
. Morgan then became Controller of Nuclear Weapons. However, Morgan was instrumental in putting the case for the development of the H-bomb on operational grounds. Morgan retired in 1956. He died at Mount Vernon Hospital
on 19 March 1967.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(5 February 1894 – 19 March 1967) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who fought in the First World War and the Second World War. He is best known as the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), the original planner of Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
.
A graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Royal Field Artillery
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....
in 1913. During the First World War he served on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
as an artillery subaltern and staff officer. Afterwards he served two long tours with the British Army in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
In 1939, Morgan was promoted to brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
and assumed command of the 1st Support Group of the 1st Armoured Division, which he led during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. In May 1942 he was became a lieutenant general and given command of the I Corps. Morgan's headquarters was designated Force 125, and given the task of dealing with a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
thrust through Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
that never occurred. In March 1943 he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Western Allies during World War II, and is currently used only within NATO. Dwight Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary...
(Designate), or COSSAC. As COSSAC he directed the planning for Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. When General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
Dwight Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander, Morgan became Deputy Chief of Staff to Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith was a senior United States Army general who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters during the Tunisia Campaign and the Allied invasion of Italy...
at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
(SHAEF).
After the war, Morgan served as Chief of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
(UNRRA) in Germany until his position in Germany was eliminated following publication of "off the record" comments concerning incompetence and corruption within UNRRA, including diverting the resources of UNRRA to the support of Zionist ambitions to further political ambitions. In 1951, Morgan became Controller of Atomic Energy, and was present for Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device on 3 October 1952. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia....
, the first British atomic weapons
Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was the third country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, in October 1952. It is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the UK ratified in 1968...
tests at the Montebello Islands
Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands, also known as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. Montebello is Italian for "beautiful mountain"...
in 1952. His position was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
but he remained as Controller of Nuclear Weapons until 1956.
Early life
Frederick Edgworth Morgan was born in Paddock WoodPaddock Wood
Paddock Wood is a small town and civil parish in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells and county of Kent in England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 8,263, and is the centre for hop growing in Kent.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
on 5 February 1894, the eldest son amongst the nine children of Frederick Beverley Morgan, a timber importer, and his wife Clare Elizabeth née Horrocks. He commenced his education at Hurstleigh, a private school in Tunbridge Wells in 1902. At an early age it was decided that Frederick would become a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer, and in 1907 he entered Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
, a school noted for its connections with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. At Clifton he played rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and served in the School Cadet Corps, which became the Officers' Training Corps in 1908. As a cadet sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, he was one of many who lined the route to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
for the Coronation of George V of the United Kingdom in 1911. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. Morgan duly passed the entrance examination for Woolwich, which he entered in 1912.
Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
on 17 July 1913, and joined 41st Battery, 42nd Brigade
42nd Brigade Royal Field Artillery
42nd Brigade Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War.It was originally formed with 29th, 41st and 45th Batteries, and attached to 3rd Infantry Division. In August 1914, it mobilised and was sent to the Continent with the British...
, Royal Field Artillery
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....
at Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
. He volunteered for service in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and in January 1914 departed on the British-India Steam Navigation Company
British-India Steam Navigation Company
British India Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. The company had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading partnership of the Scots William Mackinnon and Robert Mackenzie, to carry mail between Calcutta and Rangoon. It...
troopship Rewa
HMHS Rewa
HMHS Rewa was a steamship originally built for the British-India Steam Navigation Company, but requisitioned for use as a British hospital ship during the First World War...
, joining the 84th Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, which was stationed in Jubbulpore.
First World War
Following the outbreak of the First World War, Morgan's battery departed for the Western FrontWestern Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in October 1914 as part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division
3rd (Lahore) Division
The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.-Pre-Mutiny:The Lahore Division first...
. Morgan suffered a near-miss from a German 5.9-inch gun
15 cm sFH 13
The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13 was a heavy field howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II.-History:...
which blew him into the air and buried him in a shell hole, and he was evacuated to hospital in Boulogne with shell shock
Shell Shock
Shell Shock, also known as 82nd Marines Attack was a 1964 film by B-movie director John Hayes. The film takes place in Italy during World War II, and tells the story of a sergeant with his group of soldiers....
. He was granted a short sick leave in England only to be present when news reached his family that his brother had been killed in action. On returning to the front, Morgan became aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Edward Spencer Hoare-Nairne, the commander of the Lahore Divisional Artillery. The artillery remained on the Western Front when the bulk of the division departed for the Mesopotamian campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
. As it took longer to train artillery than infantry, the Lahore divisional artillery acted in turn as the artillery of the 2nd Canadian Division
2nd Canadian Division
The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was raised for the Second World War.-History:...
, 3rd Canadian Division
3rd Canadian Division
The 3rd Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War.The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General M.S. Mercer. Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day...
, 4th Australian Division and finally the 4th Canadian Division
4th Canadian Division
The Canadian Corps - 4th Canadian Division – World War I:The 4th Canadian Division was formed in the Britain in April 1916 from several existing units and others scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter. Under the command of Major-General David Watson, the Division embarked for France in August of...
until their own artillery was sufficiently trained to take over.
Morgan became a staff captain in February 1916, and was promoted to the temporary rank of captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in May 1916. The Lahore divisional artillery was broken up in mid-1917 and Morgan was posted to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division
42nd (East Lancashire) Division
The 42nd Division was a Territorial Force division of the British Army. Originally called the East Lancashire Division, it was redesignated as the 42nd Division on 25 May 1915. It was the first Territorial division to be sent overseas during the First World War. The division fought at Gallipoli,...
as a staff captain. On 15 August 1917, he married Marjorie Cecile Whaite, the daughter of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Thomas du Bédat Whaite of the Army Medical Services
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army...
. The couple had met on board the Rewa en route to India in 1914. Their marriage produced two daughters and a son. During the Hundred Days Offensive
Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...
he served as brigade major of the 42nd Divisional Artillery. During the war he was twice mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
, on 15 May 1917, and again on 5 July 1919.
Between the wars
In 1919, Morgan volunteered for a six year tour of India and joined the 118th Field Battery, 26th Field Brigade26th Brigade Royal Field Artillery
26th Brigade Royal Field Artillery was a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War.It was originally formed with 116th, 117th and 118th Batteries, and attached to 1st Infantry Division. In August 1914, it mobilised and was sent to the Continent with the British...
at Deepcut
Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut
The Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, commonly referred to as Deepcut Barracks, is the headquarters of the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army and the Defence School of Logistics. Located near Camberley, Surrey, England, it was the headquarters of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps until the...
, where it was forming and training for service in the subcontinent. Later that year the brigade moved to its new station at Jhansi
Jhansi
Jhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
. After three years Morgan was posted to Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...
, where he commanded the Divisional Ammunition Column. In 1924 he accepted a temporary staff posting as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG) of Major General Sir Herbert Uniacke's 1st (Peshawar) Division
1st (Peshawar) Division
The 1st Division was a Regular Division of the British Indian Army it was formed after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for action on the North West Frontier on several occasions during the period.The...
at Murree
Murree
Murree city is a popular hill station and a summer resort, especially for the residents of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and for the cities of the province of Punjab, Pakistan...
. This was immediately followed in 1925 by a year's secondment to the headquarters of Lieutenant General Sir Claud Jacob
Claud Jacob
Field-Marshal Sir Claud William Jacob GCB GCSI KCMG was a British Army officer who served in the First World War.-Military career:...
's Northern Command, where Morgan helped plan and direct large-scale manoeuvres.
Morgan returned to England in 1926, and assumed command of the 22nd Heavy Battery. Equipped with a mixture of 9.2 inch guns, 6 inch guns
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...
, 12 pounders
QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun
The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...
and 6 pounders
QF 6 pounder 10 cwt gun
The British QF 6 pounder 10 cwt gun"6 pounder" refers to approximate weight of projectiles, which was a traditional British way of denoting small guns. "10 cwt" referred to the approximate weight of the gun and breech in cwt rounded up : 10 cwt = 10 x 112 pounds = 1,120 pounds...
, it was responsible for the coastal defences of Weymouth, Dorset. Still a captain, Morgan hoped that his next career move would be to attend the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
, having narrowly passed the entrance examination. Instead, he was offered a place at the Staff College, Quetta, requiring a return trip to India. Morgan's classmates at Quetta in 1927 and 1928 included William Slim
William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim
Field Marshal William Joseph "Bill"'Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC, KStJ was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia....
, John Crocker
John Crocker
General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker GCB, KBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer and corps commander during the Second World War.- First World War :...
, Kenneth Anderson
Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson
General Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, KCB, MC was a British Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars. He is mainly remembered as the commander of the First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Tunisia. He had an outwardly reserved character and did not court...
, David Cowan
David Tennant Cowan
Major General David Tennant Cowan CB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC , also known as "Punch" Cowan, was an officer in the British Army and British Indian Army in World War I and World War II...
, George Alan Vasey and Tommy Burns
E. L. M. Burns
Eedson Louis Millard "Tommy" Burns, was a Canadian Army Lieutenant General and diplomat.-Early Education:...
. After graduation, Morgan was posted to the 70th Field Battery at Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, and then was artillery staff officer at headquarters Western Command
Western Command (India)
Western Command is a formation of the Indian Army, active since 1947. It has seen action during the Indo-Pakistan Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971. After the partition of India, the erstwhile command headquarters of which north India formed a part, Northern Command, went to Pakistan...
, under Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Henry Karslake. When Karslake became Major General, Royal Artillery, at GHQ India in 1931, he brought Morgan to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
to serve with him as General Staff Officer (Grade 2). Morgan was finally promoted to major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1932 and brevet lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in 1934.
Returning to England in 1934, Morgan assumed command of the 4th Antiaircraft Battery, which was deployed to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
during the diplomatic crisis that accompanied the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. He served in the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
from 1936 to 1938. Here he became increasingly disturbed at the lack of urgency that the government displayed in the face of a war that Morgan and his fellow staff officers felt was inevitable and imminent. That year he was promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and became General Staff Officer (Grade 1) of the 3rd Division, in which Brigadier Bernard Montgomery commanded a brigade.
Battle of France
In 1939, Morgan was promoted to brigadier and assumed command of the 1st Support Group of the 1st Armoured Division. When the 1st Support Group was shipped to France in May 1940, following the outbreak of the Second World War, it had already been stripped of its two artillery field regiments and two infantry battalions. As a result, Morgan's command included only a force of Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
and a Territorial battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers
Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France...
, which was in the process of converting to an antiaircraft/antitank regiment and armed only with antitank guns. His group was in no position to fulfill its normal role supporting the division's armoured brigades and so was sent to reinforce 51st (Highland) Division south of the river Somme. During a confused retreat most of the Support Group was captured along with the 51st Division at Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some west of Dieppe at the junction of the D53, D20, D79 and the D925 roads...
but the remainder, including Morgan, got away and were evacuated to England.
The 1st Armoured Division was reformed, and became a mobile reserve in south eastern England, with the task of counter attacking an invading German army. The 1st Support Group being given two Canadian infantry battalions for the purpose. In November 1940 Morgan was appointed Brigadier General Staff at II Corps, based in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. Morgan was promoted to major general in 1941 and given command of the Devon and Cornwall County Division, a static formation created for coastal defence. In October he assumed command of the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, a second line territorial formation.
In May 1942 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and given command of the I Corps District, which included Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
and the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
. In October of that year his headquarters became a mobile formation, was redesignated I Corps and placed under Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. Morgan's corps headquarters, designated Force 125, with the 1st Division and 4th Division
4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 4th Infantry Division is a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War , the First World War , and during the Second World War.- Napoleonic Wars :...
, was given the task of dealing with a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
thrust through Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. When this operation proved unnecessary, his divisions were sent to North Africa, while he was directed to plan the invasion of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. In time this was abandoned in favour of the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. I Corps headquarters remained in the United Kingdom the whole time, located at 1 Cumberland near Marble Arch
Marble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
, with the headquarters mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
in the Lyons Marble Arch Corner House
J. Lyons and Co.
J. Lyons & Co. was a market-dominant British restaurant-chain, food-manufacturing, and hotel conglomerate founded in 1887 as a spin-off from the Salmon & Gluckstein tobacco company....
. However, it gained considerable experience in operational planning. Morgan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 June 1943.
COSSAC
At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the Combined Chiefs of StaffCombined Chiefs of Staff
The Combined Chiefs of Staff was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the American Joint Chiefs of Staff....
agreed to establish a staff to plan operations in north west Europe in 1944. As it was envisaged that the Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Western Allies during World War II, and is currently used only within NATO. Dwight Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary...
would be British, it was decided to appoint a British Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Western Allies during World War II, and is currently used only within NATO. Dwight Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary...
(Designate) (COSSAC), with an American deputy. In March 1943 Morgan became COSSAC. Brigadier General Ray Barker
Ray Barker
Ray Wehnes Barker was a Major General of the Allied Forces, and served in the European Theater of Operations During World War II. General Barker was a key member of the combined United States-British group, which became known as COSSAC...
became his American deputy. Initially, Morgan's staff consisted of an aide, two batmen and a driver with a car purloined from I Corps headquarters. Morgan established headquarters in Norfolk House
Norfolk House
Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of...
at 31 St James's Square. However by October 1943, it was clearly too small for COSSAC needs, which called for accommodation for a staff of 320 officers and 600 other ranks. In November and December part of the staff moved to the South Rotunda
Marsham Towers
The Marsham Towers were three towers at the corner of Marsham Street and Great Peter Street in Westminster, London. They served as the headquarters of the Department of the Environment.-Redevelopment:The redevelopment of the site was long planned...
, a bombproof structure that had originally been fitted up as an anti-invasion base, which was connected to the various ministries by the Whitehall Tunnel
Military citadels under London
A number of military citadels are known to have been constructed underground in central London, dating mostly from the Second World War and the Cold War...
. Other staff were accommodated at 80 Pall Mall
Schomberg House
Schomberg House is a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in central London which has a colourful history. Only the street facade survives today. It was built for Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, a Huguenot general in the service of the British crown...
.
COSSAC was charged with planning three operations: Operation Cockade
Operation Cockade
Operation Cockade was a series of deception operations designed to alleviate German pressure on Allied operations in Sicily and on the Soviets on the eastern front by feinting various attacks into Western Europe...
, a deception
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
operation to keep German forces pinned to the coast; Operation Rankin, a plan for measures to be taken in the case of a sudden German collapse; and Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, a plan for a full-scale assault on north western Europe. Morgan and his staff worked on the Overlord plan throughout June and the first half of July 1943. Morgan presented it to the Chiefs of Staff Committee
Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chiefs of Staff Committee is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces.-History:The Chiefs of Staff Committee was initially established as a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence in 1923. It remained as such until the abolition of the CID upon the...
on 15 July. The plan set forth in detail the conditions under which the assault could be made, the area where a landing would be feasible, and the means by which it would be developed.
On 28 July, a group of the COSSAC staff, headed by Barker travelled to Washington D.C. to present the Overlord plan to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
, and to confer with the U.S. War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
about the troop basis for the operation and issues related to its civil affairs
Civil Affairs
Civil Affairs is a term used by both the United Nations and by military institutions , but for different purposes in each case.-United Nations Civil Affairs:...
and logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
aspects. Missions were also exchanged with Eisenhower's Allied Force Headquarters in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
to coordinate the plans of offensive action in the Mediterranean and North West Europe in 1944. In October and November, Morgan went to Washington, to discuss the operation with the Combined Chiefs of Staff, accompanied only by Major General Nevil Brownjohn
Nevil Brownjohn
General Sir Nevil Charles Dowell Brownjohn GBE KCB CMG MC was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.-Military career:Brownjohn was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1915: he served in World War I...
and an aide. Morgan met with General George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
, who instructed him to proceed with planning on the basis that Marshall would be Supreme Allied Commander and Morgan his chief of staff. Morgan met with President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Roosevelt turned down Morgan's request for the services of Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. , also known as A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. or Tony Biddle, was a wealthy socialite who became a diplomat of the United States, and served in the United States Army during World War I and after World War II, reaching the rank of major general.-Biography:Biddle was the...
to assist with Civil Affairs, and also cast doubt on whether Marshall could be spared to become Supreme Allied Commander. While in the United States Morgan visited the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and the training camps at Camp Carrabelle, Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Camp Mackall
Camp Mackall
Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training facility located in eastern Richmond County and northern Scotland County, North Carolina, south of the town of Southern Pines. The facility is in close proximity to and is a sub-installation of Fort Bragg Camp Mackall is an active U.S. Army training...
and Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
.
The Combined Chiefs of Staff authorised Morgan to issue orders in the name of the Supreme Allied Commander to the Commanders in Chief of the Air, Naval and Land Forces, even though they outranked him. When Montgomery was appointed Commander in Chief Land Forces for the invasion, in December 1943, he declared that Morgan's original plans were unworkable; they had originally been limited by the availability of landing craft, but Montgomery insisted it would require more men attacking over a wider front. Ultimately, more landing craft were obtained and the invasion was scaled up to Montgomery's satisfaction, at the cost of a month's delay and a reduction in the Southern France operation
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
. However, all the key features of Morgan's plan remained- the choice of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
as the assault area, the use of Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....
s, the deployment of American forces on the right and British on the left, the use of airborne troops to cover the flanks, and some form of diversionary operation in Southern France.
SHAEF
When Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander the COSSAC team was absorbed into SHAEF. Eisenhower brought his Chief of Staff for Allied Forces HeadquartersAllied Forces Headquarters
Allied Force Headquarters was the headquarters that controlled all Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II from late 1942 to the end of the war....
, Major General Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith was a senior United States Army general who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters during the Tunisia Campaign and the Allied invasion of Italy...
, and moved the headquarters to Bushey Park. Morgan was offered command of a corps in Italy
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
but declined in favour of becoming one of Smith's three deputies. His responsibilities covered Intelligence and Operations. Morgan coordinated the work of various SHAEF divisions and deputised for Bedell Smith when he was absent.
Morgan also was called upon on occasion to deal with Montgomery, with whom his professional relationship as Deputy Chief of Staff was similar to that before the war when Montgomery was a brigade commander. On one occasion Morgan was summoned to Smith's office to find him white with rage at a telephone receiver. "That's your bloody marshal on the other end of that," Smith explained. "I can't talk to him any more. Now you go on." "As the campaign progressed," Morgan late wrote, "it became more difficult for us British at SHAEF to provide explanation, as we were continually called upon to do, for the attitude and behaviour of the British authorities as exemplified by their chosen representative in the field." Senior British officers at SHAEF, notably Morgan, Kenneth Strong
Kenneth Strong
Major General Sir Kenneth William Dobson Strong KBE, CB was a British Army officer who served in the Second World War, rising to become Director General of Intelligence. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Strong was commissioned into the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1920...
and Jock Whiteley remained loyal to Eisenhower. This cast a pall over their careers after the war, when Montgomery became Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
After the war Smith described Morgan as his British alter ego, "a man I wouldn't willingly have dispensed with." Morgan served in this role until SHAEF was dissolved in June 1945. He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in August 1944 "in recognition of distinguished services in connection with the invasion of Normandy". The United States government awarded him the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
in April 1945, and the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great...
in 1948 for his services. He was also Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant
Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels...
of the Royal Artillery from 1948 to 1958.
UNRRA
In September 1945 Morgan became the Chief of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation AdministrationUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
(UNRRA) in Germany. He applied his energy and planning skills to the problem of providing relief to millions of refugees and displaced persons in Europe in the wake of the war. However he became frustrated with the inefficiency of the United Nations organisation, and events in the British–Zionist conflict in the British Mandate for Palestine made him feel conflicted betweens his role in assisting Jewish refugees at UNRRA, whom he regarded as special victims of the Nazis for being persecuted solely for their race, and supporting British policy as a British Army officer. In January 1946 he created a furore by claiming at a press conference that there was a secret Zionist organisation that was attempting to facilitate an "exodus" of Jewish people from Europe to a new state in Palestine with Soviet encouragement. He later wrote:
A correspondent reported that Morgan made "casual observations based on what he saw... but the controversial remarks were taken out of the context and put together by correspondents." UNRRA expected that Morgan would offer his resignation but he did not do so. An attempt to clarify his position "off the record" failed, and Morgan's position in Germany was eliminated by UNRRA Director Fiorello La Guardia.
Morgan's statements caused a furor in the press, which portrayed them as antisemitic and distasteful. However, Morgan's comments were factual, based on military intelligence. It was reported at the time in Time magazine that: "Observers here [in Berlin]... are positive of [Morgan's] sincerity, and know he had no intention of feeding the fires of anti-Semitic propaganda." Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish was an American poet, writer, and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.-Early years:...
, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Public Affairs within the United States Department of State. Typically, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is also the official spokesperson of the State Department...
, stated that when the press had finished with Sir Frederick, "..the sum total effect was a lie and a disastrous and evil lie. This brings up the question of journalistic standards. In a world as closely integrated as this one is, the question must be asked: what is the standard of truth in journalism? When the journalist is dealing with an inflammatory subject and so reports it that verbally his story is true, but the overall effect is false, are the standards of truth satisfied?"
Morgan, coming from his military background, was appalled at the corruption, inefficiency and political diversion of UNRRA. A member of his staff said that "to serve such an outfit is degradation beyond description. In fact, [Morgan wrote], to have been rejected for such service I have always felt to have been a high honour."
Atomic Energy
In 1951, Morgan succeeded Lord PortalCharles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford KG GCB OM DSO & Bar MC was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing...
as Controller of Atomic Energy. The position had been created in January 1946 as "Controller of Production, Atomic Energy" when the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
had assumed responsibility for nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. The job, the title of which was changed to "Controller Atomic Energy" in 1950, had no written terms of reference, but carried broad responsibility for the coordination of all aspects of nuclear weapons production. Although located within the Ministry of Supply, the controller had direct access to the Prime Minister, although Portal rarely exercised this. It was widely believed that Morgan, who was "amiable but not adequate to the task", had been appointed by mistake, having been confused with his namesake, General Sir William Duthie Morgan
William Duthie Morgan
General Sir William Duthie Morgan GCB DSO MC was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:Morgan was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1913. He served in World War I winning the DSO at the Battle of Le Cateau in 1914 and later the MC and was mentioned in despatches four...
. The latter had greatly impressed Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
as Army member of the Joint Staff Mission to the United States from 1947 to 1950. Morgan therefore relied heavily on his key subordinates, Sir John Cockcroft
John Cockcroft
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft OM KCB CBE FRS was a British physicist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus with Ernest Walton, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power....
, William Penney
William Penney, Baron Penney
William George Penney, Baron Penney OM, KBE PhD, DSc, , FRS, FRSE, FIC, Hon FCGI was a British mathematician who was responsible for the development of British nuclear technology, following World War II...
, and Christopher Hinton
Christopher Hinton
Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside OM, KBE, FRS, FREng, was a British nuclear engineer, and supervisor of the construction of Calder Hall, the world's first large-scale commercial nuclear power station.-Career:Hinton's career began as graduate engineering apprentice with the Great...
.
In his role as Controller of Atomic Energy, Morgan was present for Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device on 3 October 1952. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia....
, the first British atomic weapons
Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was the third country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, in October 1952. It is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the UK ratified in 1968...
tests at the Montebello Islands
Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands, also known as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. Montebello is Italian for "beautiful mountain"...
in October 1952. His position was gradually reduced to a figurehead, with his authority largely supplanted by the Atomic Energy Board, which was chaired by Lord Cherwell, and was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of nuclear fusion power. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was formerly chaired by Lady Barbara Judge CBE...
. Morgan then became Controller of Nuclear Weapons. However, Morgan was instrumental in putting the case for the development of the H-bomb on operational grounds. Morgan retired in 1956. He died at Mount Vernon Hospital
Mount Vernon Hospital
Mount Vernon Hospital is one of two hospitals run by The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, located in Northwood.-History:The hospital was founded in 1860 as The North London Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in Fitzroy Square and moved in 1864 to Mount Vernon in Hampstead...
on 19 March 1967.