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Arthur Shortt

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Arthur Shortt
Born(1899-04-02)2 April 1899
Weare, Somerset
DiedJune 1984 (aged 85)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1916–1956
RankMajor General
Service number10886
UnitRoyal Engineers
Battles / warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches
Legion of Honour (France)

Major General Arthur Charles Shortt, CB, OBE (2 April 1899 – June 1984) was a British Army officer who served as Director of Military Intelligence from 1949 to 1953.

Military career

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Shortt was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 26 August 1916, during the First World War.[1] He served during the interwar period, where he was in charge of a company of Gentlemen Cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from January 1931.[2]

Shortt served in the Second World War as Director of Technical Training at the War Office from May 1943,[3] before seeing action in North-West Europe in 1944.[4] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in June 1945.[5]

Shortt became Director of Military Intelligence in December 1949,[6] in which role he regarded the British Army of the Rhine Intelligence Service "as the most important Field Agency on the Soviet Army anywhere".[7] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1951 New Year Honours,[8] and went on to be Head of the Joint Services Liaison Staff in Australia in September 1953 before retiring in April 1956.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 29723". The London Gazette. 1 January 1951. p. 8403.
  2. ^ "No. 33687". The London Gazette. 6 February 1931. p. 833.
  3. ^ "Arthur Shortt". Generals.dk. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Recommendations for Honours and Awards". Hut 6. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  5. ^ "No. 37138". The London Gazette. 1 January 1951. p. 3218.
  6. ^ "Army commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  7. ^ Aldrich, Richard (February 2008). "Intelligence within BAOR and NATO's Northern Army Group" (PDF). The Journal of Strategic Studies. p. 97. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  8. ^ "No. 39104". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1951. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Ministry of Defence senior posts" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
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Military offices
Preceded by Director of Military Intelligence
1949–1953
Succeeded by