John Francis Metcalfe
Major-General John Francis Metcalfe, CB, CBE (30 June 1908 – 11 June 1975) was a British Army officer who served in World War II and later became General Officer Commanding Aldershot District. He was educated at Radley College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in 1928. At the start of World War II he studied at the Staff College, Quetta, and later taught there in 1942. In 1944 he became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment, and in 1945 he was brigadier responsible for maintenance at Headquarters Allied Land Forces in South East Asia.
After the war, Metcalfe held several staff roles: colonel in charge of administration for the South Wales District (1946), and an instructor at the Joint Services Staff College (1947). He was commanding officer of the 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment (1949), then brigadier on the General Staff at Western Command (1951). He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1954 and, during the Malayan Emergency, commanded the 2nd Federation Infantry Brigade in Malaya (1955). He served as Director of Personnel Administration at the War Office (1958) and was General Officer Commanding Aldershot District from 1961 until his retirement in 1963. He was also Colonel of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment from 1959 to 1964. Metcalfe was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and was mentioned in despatches.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:18 (CET).