Percy Hobart - World War II

World War II

Sir Archibald Wavell dismissed Hobart into retirement in 1940, based on hostile War Office information due to his "unconventional" ideas about armoured warfare. Hobart joined the Local Defence Volunteers (precursor to the Home Guard) as a lance-corporal and was charged with the defence of his home village, Chipping Campden. "At once, Chipping Campden became a hedgehog of bristling defiance", and Hobart was promoted to become Deputy Area Organiser. Liddell Hart criticised the decision to retire Hobart and wrote an article in the newspaper Sunday Pictorial. Winston Churchill was notified and he had Hobart re-enlisted into the army in 1941. Hobart was assigned to train 11th Armoured Division, which was recognised as an extremely successful task. His detractors tried again to have him removed, this time on medical grounds, but Churchill rebuffed them. Subsequently, however, he was removed from the 11th Armoured when they were transferred to Tunisia in September 1942. He was relatively old (57) for active command and he had been ill.

Once again, Hobart was assigned to raise and train a fresh armoured division, this time the 79th.