Andrew Thorne

Educated at Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Thorne was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards in 1904. He served in the First World War, becoming a staff captain, then deputy assistant adjutant and quartermaster general and then deputy assistant quartermaster general in France. He became Commanding Officer (CO) of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards in 1916,[1] and saw action in the First Battle of Ypres in 1914[2] and Battle of the Somme in 1916, earning the Distinguished Service Order and two Bars.[3] In 1918 he became commander of the 184th Brigade.[1]

After the war he became assistant military attaché at Washington, D.C. and then, in 1922, a General staff Officer (GSO) at London District. He was appointed military assistant to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the War Office in 1925 CO of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards again in 1927. In 1932, he was made military attaché in Berlin for three years, where he came to know Hitler and many of his senior officers personally.[2] He was commander of the 1st Guards Brigade at Aldershot Command in 1935, a temporary brigade commander in Palestine and Transjordan in 1936, and in 1938 he became Major General commanding the Brigade of Guards and General Officer Commanding (GOC) London District.[1]

In 1939, at the start of the Second World War, Thorne became GOC 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division, which played an important role in the defence of the Dunkirk perimeter in 1940.[3] He then became GOC XII Corps before being appointed GOC Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 1941 to 1945. As GOC XII Corps, he founded the innovative XII Corps Observation Unit as a prototype of the Auxiliary Units guerrilla organisation.[4] Whilst in Scotland, he was involved in the creation of War Office Selection Boards and responsible for the Fortitude North deception plan, as well as preparation for the liberation of Norway.[1]

Germany officially surrendered in Norway on 8 May 1945, and Thorne arrived in Norway on 13 May together with Crown Prince Olav. He brought with him a small military force—one tenth the size of the German military presence—and so had to rely on cooperation with paramilitary forces from the Norwegian resistance movement. He cooperated closely with Jens Chr. Hauge. He formally held the sovereignty of Norway until 7 June, when Haakon VII of Norway returned from his exile. Thorne remained in charge of dismantling the German presence in Norway until he left the country on 31 October 1945.[5]

He retired in 1946.[1] He was chairman of the Anglo-Norse Society for some time.[5]

• Ashley Hart, Stephen (Autumn 2001). "The Forgotten Liberator: The 1939–1945 Military Career of General Sir Andrew Thorne". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 79 (319): 233–249. JSTOR 44232609.
• "THORNE, General Sir (Augustus Francis) Andrew (Nicol)". (2007). In Who Was Who. Online edition.
• Mann, Christopher (September 2008). "Thorne, Sir (Augustus Francis) Andrew Nicol (1885–1970)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50362. Retrieved 5 June 2010. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Lindsay, Donald (1987). Forgotten General: Life of Andrew Thorne. Michael Russell, Salisbury. ISBN 978-0-85955-137-3.

• British Army Officers 1939–1945
• Generals of World War II