Born in Bradpole near Bridport, Dorset to Arthur and Mary Jane Major (nee Crofts). He married Olive Sarah Neal in South Perrott, Dorset 20 Sept 1920. He is buried along with his wife at Cobham Cemetery, Surrey.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coleshill House, GHQ | Commanding Officer Auxiliary Units | 18 Nov 1940 | 11 Feb 1942 |
Coniston and Bridport Grammar School.
Army Officer
14 Sept 1914 Enlisted in ranks 4th Battalion Dorset Regiment. Private 2856.
9 Oct 1914 - 10 April 1918 Served in India, Mesopotamia [later Iraq], Egypt and Palestine.
29 Aug 1917 He was promoted in the Dorset Regiment as a temporary 2nd Lieutenant until the end of WW1. He served in Mesopotamia briefly again to 9 April 1918 with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force to 31 October 1918.
16 Nov 1918 Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. He was awarded the Victory and British Medals.
17 May 1920 Joined Small Arms School. Bombing Course.
1921 Elrington Barracks, Londonderry with 1st Battalion Dorset Regiment.
1926 Major. Qualified as a Instructor in Interpretation of air photographs at Farnborough. He passed 2nd in a course of instructors duties of branch intelligence. Officer and S.A.O with RAF on mobilisation. Branch Intelligence Officer at RAF Old Sarum, near to Salisbury. In 1920, Old Sarum became home to the RAF’s School of Army Co-operation, and started to develop RAF and Army skills in airborne artillery spotting and tactical reconnaissance.
24 Jan 1927 Special Appointment – Shanghai Defence Force and North China Specially Appointed [class GG] with the Shanghai Defence Force and North China command [temp] until 24th November 1927.
4 May 1928 From Dorset Regiment to be Captain 1st Battalion York and Lancs Regiment.
1930 - 1933 Chief of staff of MI2c (Military Intelligence for Japan).
Many of the above facts, his service in the middle east and Egypt in WW1, and his appointment in Shanghai with the Defence Force help to illustrate why Colonel Major was picked for the job in Auxiliary Units. He must have had experience of the use of irregular warfare and the tribal guerrillas in Iraq, and of course in the Shanghai Defence force against guerrillas, criminal gangs, street and gang warfare. As an officer in the Shanghai Defence Force he would almost certainly have come across Messrs Fairbairn and Sykes, who were also British Officer members of that Force, masters in the art of dirty fighting and clandestine silent killing. He may even have gone on their defence and shooting courses during his time there.
1 Jan 1934 Major Royal Irish Fusilers.
18 Nov 1940 Assumed Command GHQ Auxiliary Units. Relinquishes appointment GSO1 (Intelligence) HQ Eastern Command.
30 Nov 1940 Appointment Commander Auxiliary Units replacing Gubbins. Granted Acting Rank Colonel. Major was the first to inherit a fully set up HQ for both administration and training. Under Gubbins there was no time for formal administration but Major turned this around. There was still very much a threat of invasion but weapons, equipment, stores and uniforms were more available. He created the Group and Area Commands with Captains and Lieutenants in command and, where previously unknown to each other Patrols, worked and trained together. He also initiated the more formal ranks of a Patrol Sergeant and Corporals.
18 May 1941 Granted Temporary Rank Colonel and War Substantive Rank Lieutenant Colonel.
11 Feb 1942 Left Auxiliary Units and was replaced by The Lord Glanusk. Before he relinquished command at Coleshill, Major compiled a list of the accommodation contact addresses of the Operational Intelligence Officers in late 1941. He also noted in his personal diaries the approximate state of the organization late in 1941, showing the number of Patrols formed at that time in each County, the number of OBs built and those still to be formed and built. This was used by David Lampe in his 1968 book, The Last Ditch [pages 157-160].
23 Feb 1942 Appointed Command Defence Officer, RAF Regiment [possibly notified as a War Office order before this date, 15th perhaps]. His previous involvement with the RAF in 1926 was most likely the reason behind his appointment to the newly formed RAF Regiment.
Promoted War Substantive Lieutenant Colonel.
June 1945 Director of Psychological Warfare, HQ Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia
26 Nov 1946 Having exceeded the age of retirement to receive net pay and be given the rank of Brigadier.
1946-1954 Attached War Office.
1954-1958 On staff of Prime Minister of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland,
12 June 1958 HM's birthday Honours awarded the OBE for public services to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
His war record shows he spoke French and Hindustani and was qualified in Pitman's shorthand.
He was a semi-finalist in a Northern Ireland Boxing Tournament in Dec 1915.
TNA ref WO372/13/88244
Jeremy Major
Army Service Record from the Major Family
The Last Ditch by David Lampe.