Francis Festing

Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing
Nickname(s)	"Frontline Frankie" "Frankie"[1]
Born	(1902-08-28)28 August 1902 Dublin, Ireland
Died	3 August 1976(1976-08-03) (aged 73) Hexham, Northumberland, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1921–1961
Rank	Field Marshal
Service number	611
Unit	Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)
Commands	Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1958–61) Far East Land Forces (1956–58) Eastern Command (1954–56) British Troops in Egypt (1952–54) Regular Commissions Board (1950–51) British Forces in Hong Kong (1945–46, 1949) 36th Infantry Division (1942–45) 29th Infantry Brigade (1941) 2nd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment (1940–41)
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Order of the Cloud and Banner (China)

Field Marshal Sir Francis Wogan Festing, GCB, KBE, DSO, DL (Mandarin: 菲士廷, fēi shì tíng; 28 August 1902 – 3 August 1976) was a senior British Army officer. His most important posts were as Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong (1945–46 and 1949), General Officer Commanding (GOC) British Troops in Egypt (1952), GOC Eastern Command (1954), Commander-in-Chief Far East Land Forces (1956), and Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1958–61). He saw active service in the Second World War, taking a prominent role in Operation Ironclad (the Battle of Madagascar) and the Arakan offensive of the Burma campaign, and later advised the British government on ending conscription and reducing the size of the army by fifteen battalions.