General Sir Edward Pellew Quinan, KCB, KCIE, DSO, OBE (January 1885–November 1960), was a British army commander during World War II.
Edward Pellew Quinan was of Anglo-Irish descent but born in Calcutta. His main claim to fame is that he was the last general to successfully invade both Iraq and subsequently Iran. This occurred in World War II when Quinan commanded the British and Indian Army Forces in Iraq and Iran.
He was commissioned into the Indian Army (27th Punjab Regiment) in 1905. Before World War I, he served on active service on the North West Frontier of the British Indian Empire. During the war he fought in France and Mesopotamia. He served at the battles of Neuve Chapelle, Loos and the attempt to relieve Kut al Amara and was wounded at Beit Aisa.
He returned to India and the Frontier and was a staff officer in the 1919 Afghan War. He wrote the official history of the campaign. In the 1920s and 1930s he rose to the command of his regiment and was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College an indication of his suitability for high command.
While in command at Jhansi in 1930, Amy Johnson, the famous British pilot, made a heavy landing on the parade ground during her epic flight from London to Australia. Quinan was instrumental in getting her Gypsy Moth repaired.
In 1936, during the short reign of King Edward VIII, Quinan was appointed Aide-de-camp Brigadier to the King Emperor. In 1937 he commanded operations against the Fakir of Ipi in Waziristan and was awarded the DSO. The next year, he was promoted to Major General.
Quinan spent the early years of World War II on the North West Frontier but in 1941, he was promoted to Lieutenant General, visited General Sir Archibald Wavell in Cairo and was sent to command the Indian Army Corps in the landing at Basra, Iraq, and was appointed GOC British Troops in Iraq (Paiforce) and awarded the KCIE (Knight Commander of the Indian Empire).
At that time, the pro-German government of Iraq led by Rashid Ali al-Kaylani had tried to capture the RAF base at Habbaniya and force the British to leave the country. Quinan's invasion from the south, supported by British troops from Trans-Jordan overthrew the Iraqi government and replaced it with a pro-British one.
In 1942, he planned and executed the invasion of Iran. The principal reason for this was to secure the supply lines to the Soviet Union and to protect British oil installations in Abadan. The Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi was considered to be pro-German so he was deposed and replaced by his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was GOC 10th Army in Persia and Iraq Command.
In 1943 he left the Middle East and was appointed GOCinC North West Army, India. That same year, he retired for medical reasons and returned to Britain. In 1945 he was awarded the KCB (Knight Commander of the Bath). He lived quietly in Somerset until his death in 1960.
