Lieut Col. John Robert LIVEING [469]

  General Notes:

Liveing Capt J R 357 Sharrow Ln 11 Sheffield 52272
Ancestry: Phone Book Hull Leeds Sheffield 1960/61

Liveing Maj J R 60 Harcourt rd Bushy Bushy Hth 2902
Ancestry: London MDX Essex Phone Book 1962/63

Liveing Maj J R 1 Elmwood ave Feltham
01 890 6803
Ancestry: London MDX Phone Book 1966/67

Liveing Maj J R 8 Caesars way Shepperton Walton-o-T 29147
Ancestry: London MDX Phone Book 1970/71/72/73/74/75/76/78/79/80/81

John Robert Liveing.
Service Record
379225
Soldier Service: 29 August 1946 - 9 May 1947
Commissioned Service: 10 May 1947 - 3 February 1978.
Summary of Service.
Date From. Unit and Appointment.
Aug 56 - 17 Gurkha DIV (Adjt RAOC)
Aug 57 - 17 Gurkha DIV (DADOS (0))
Jul 59 - 49 INF DIV (Adjt HQ RAOC)
Apr 61 - SO3 ORD 5 WO (To 961)
Jan 62 - DADOS Ord 4 (FROM 10 61)
Jan 64 - 15 ABOO (DIC GS PROVISION)
Sep 64 - INDUSTRIAL ADM COURSE
Jul 65 - CVO Feltham (OC)
Nov 67 - INSTR SCHOOL of ORD
Jun 69 - DADOS 2 HQ DOS
Jul 70 - ADOS ORD 7 HQ DOS
Feb 73 - CRAOC ORD SVCS Berlin
Apr 75 - DIC CICP
Sep 75 - COL ORD 3 DOS
Apr 77 - COL SUPPLY MAN 1D DF SUP MAN

Military Courses.
Ordnance Officers - Planning and Work Study 6 Mar 60 - 14 Apr 60
Ordnance Officers - Provisions Phase 2 Nov 63 - 20 Dec 63
RAOC Long ADP - ADP Appreciation 1 Apr 68 - 19 Apr 68
RAOC Senior Officers - Logistics 8 Apr 71 - 30 Jun 71

From: Major-General M Callan.
Director General of Ordnance Services.
Logistic Executive (Army)
Portway, Monxton Road, Andover, Hants, SP11 8HT.
Telephone: (Trunk) 01-222 3141. Ext.419
(Local) Andover (0264) 32111 Ext 419

Reference: DGOS/4/78

Col J.R. Liveing
13 Dodds Crescent
West Byfleet
Weybridge
Surrey KT14 6RJ
5 June 1978.

My dear John,
As your last day of active service arrives, I wanted to drop you a few lines to say how much all your colleagues and friends in the Corps have appreciated your work over many years.
If it sounds a bit like your last CB please forgive me! But I am sure we all know that your great experience, tenacity and unequivocal expression of your views, allied to genuine modesty and unpretentiousness, have made you a man respected and liked throughout your service. You have always given your best; thank goodness virtue had its just reward in the higher rank you achieved.
I know that we shall miss your sage counsel based on thorough knowledge and perception of ordnance matters and what the customer wants.
We all wish success and continued happiness to you and Angela in your new career at Henley, and will look forward to seeing you at our Corps social functions in the years ahead.
With very best wishes,
Yours ever,
Mike C.

Obituary Notice
Col John Robert Liveing
1928 - 2010
John's many friends who served with the 1^st Battalion, The South Wales Borderers (1^st/24^th) in Eritrea in the early 1950s will be saddened to learn of his death in April 2010.
John whose father served with the Royal Tank Regiment during the First World War grew up in North London and went to Finchley Grammar School throughout the second World War where he was a good scholar and enthusiastic sports player with a particular love of cricket. Later he became a keen and proficient golfer.
Originally hoping to study medicine, he was called up for National Service in 1946 and was duly commissioned, later deciding to take a regular commission with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC). At that time, the War Office policy for the training of junior regular RAOC officers was for them to serve two and a half years with an infantry battalion and John was posted in 1952 to 1/SWB in Asmara, Eritrea where the Regiment had not long arrived from previous duties in Khartoum - (the writer joined the Battalion in Khartoum in late 1949 under the same policy).
John served as a platoon commander, took a full and active part in all aspects of regimental life that he so much enjoyed and spent much of his time on long and arduous patrols chasing the local bandits - the shifta. He often recounted to friends his fond memories of service in Eritrea and of singing around the camp fires in the desert as he and some of his colleagues once headed for Khartoum to participate in the army sports championships. He returned to the RAOC in late 1952 to resume Corps duties.
During 32 years army service involving 26 postings, he served in East Africa, Melaya, Singapore, Berlin and BAOR, and his last appointment was as a Colonel in Supply Management at the MOD.
He retired from the Army at the age of 50, joined the Administrative Staff College and was concerned with fundraising and promotional work, later becoming the Registrar for the General Management and Senior Courses. He later moved to part-time work for the Greenlands Alumni Association.
His retirement years were unfortunately dogged by ill-health, losing both legs due to diabetes and then suffering a stroke, but he bore all this with great courage and fortitude. His funeral took place at Henley-on-Thames on 29^th of April 2010.
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) John K P Coghill. OBE

Obituary.
Liberal who became college registrar after 32 years in the army.
Colonel John Robert Liveing has died, aged 81. He and his wife Angela came to Henley in 1978 following his retirement from the army.
He took up a post at the Administrative Staff College, later the Henley Management College at Greenlands.
John was a regular worshipper at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Henley and an enthusiastic committee member of the Henley Liberal party.
His father, an electrical engineer and early member of the Royal Tank Regiment, was badly injured in the battle of Gaza in 1917. He was nursed back to health in Cairo by a nursing sister from Dublin whom he married while recovering from his injuries. He settled in North London where he worked as an electrical engineer on the Underground.
Born in 1928, John went to Finchley Grammar School throughout the Second World War. He was a good scholar and an enthusiastic player of sports with a particular love of cricket. Later in life he was a keen golfer at Huntercombe Golf Club.
Originally hoping to study medicine he was called up for National Service in 1946 and became a National Service Officer. Later he took a regular commission with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and during his early career served with the South Welsh Borderers in Eritrea and had fond memories of singing around campfires in the desert as they headed to Khartoum and the army sports championships.
During 32 years of army service he served in 26 postings in locations including East Africa, Malaya, Singapore, Berlin, West Germany, and the UK. He also attended a one year management course at the Institute of Science and Technology at the University of Manchester.
His last appointment was as a colonel in supply management at the Ministry of Defence in London. He retired from the Army aged 50 and joined the Administrative Staff College where he was concerned with fundraising and promotional work.
Two years on he became Registrar for the general management and senior courses and was involved with allocating course members by skill and aptitude to the study syndicates. He greatly enjoyed his meetings with managers from major companies around the world.
He later took part-time work for the Greenlands Alumni Association and visited many groups of former students from the college.
His retirement years were dogged by ill-health, which he bore with great courage and fortitude. Always optimistic and cheerful, he was keenly interested in current affairs and kept close friendships with former colleagues and their families from both the army and the college. He leaves a wife his three sons and their families.
Ref: Henley Standard.

  Other Records

1. John Robert Liveing: Images over time.
As a child and a young man, in the Army in Eritrea and Xmas card from there 1952.

2. John Robert Liveing: Army Commission, 16 Dec 1949.

John married Angela Margaret DANIEL [7040] [MRIN: 2324], daughter of Brig James Alfred DANIEL CIE DSO MC [9863] and Shelia Vivienne NICHOLAS [33363], on 30 Apr 1954 in St James Spanish Plc LND. (Angela Margaret DANIEL [7040] was born on 20 Jul 1933 and died on 25 Jun 2020.)