Lieutenant General Sir Ian Henry Freeland (14 September 1912 – 2 July 1979) was a senior British Army officer, who served with distinction during World War II and most notably served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) and Director of Operations in security matters in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of rioting in 1969, and the beginning of the Troubles.
Early military career and Second World War
Born in Milton, Hampshire, England on 14 September 1912, the son of Major-General Sir Francis Edward Freeland, a British Army officer, Ian Henry Freeland was initially educated at Wellington College, Berkshire. Then, after attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Freeland was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Norfolk Regiment (Royal Norfolk Regiment from 3 June 1935) on 1 September 1932, and, after being posted to India to join the regiment's 1st Battalion, was promoted to lieutenant on 1 September 1935.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Freeland was, on 17 January 1940, promoted to the acting rank of captain and made adjutant to his battalion, which in July 1940 returned to England, then under threat of a German invasion. His rank of captain was made permanent on 1 September 1940. In 1942, he then served as brigade major for the 7th Infantry Brigade, part of the 3rd Infantry Division under Major General Eric Hayes, and General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) at the War Office in 1943 and gained a variety of wartime promotions, culminating on 22 April 1944 in temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel and he became Commanding Officer (CO) of the 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolks, a second-line Territorial Army (TA) unit. The battalion formed part of the 176th Infantry Brigade of the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Lewis Lyne, and, in late June, was sent overseas to Normandy, France, a few weeks after the D-Day landings. The battalion was involved in the Battle of Normandy, including the capture of Caen during Operation Charnwood, where the battalion suffered over 150 casualties, which was followed by the Second Battle of the Odon, and for his leadership Freeland was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 21 December 1944.
The citation for this award describes how his battalion was the forward unit of a bridgehead over the River Orne near Grimbosq and over the forty-eight hours of 7 and 8 August 1944 repelled nine German counterattacks (by elements of the 271st Volksgrenadier Division and 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend). Despite heavy German fire, Freeland constantly moved around the battlefield to encourage his forward companies, and find the moment to launch his own offensive. Around the same time Captain David Jamieson of Freeland's battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). Just a few days later, however, the battalion, along with the rest of the 59th Division, was, due to a critical manpower shortage in the British Army at this stage of the war, broken up and the remaining men were sent to other British infantry units to bring them to strength.
After his battalion's disbandment, Freeland was posted to command the 1/5th Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), part of the 131st Infantry Brigade of Major General Gerald Lloyd-Verney's 7th Armoured Division, through Belgium, and was awarded the Belgian decorations of Chevalier of the Order of the Crown with Palm and the Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm. The citation for these awards emphasised his command of the battalion during the liberation of Ghent, when the battalion was the leading element of the 7th Armoured Division. Freeland continued to lead the 1/5th Queens throughout the rest of the Northwestern Europe Campaign, until the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, which saw the battalion in Hamburg, Germany.
Postwar
Freeland held the temporary rank of colonel and served on the staff of HQ VIII Corps District, under Lieutenant General Sir Evelyn Barker, from 1945 to 1946, before becoming second-in-command of the 4th Armoured Brigade and further staff duties followed at HQ British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in 1946–1947. This was followed by duty as commandant, All Arms Training Centre from 1948 to 1949; staff duty at the War Office from 1949 to 1950; and instructing at the Staff College, Camberley from 1951 to 1953.