General Kodendera Subayya Thimayya (31 March 1906 – 18 December 1965) was the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961 during the crucial years leading up to the conflict with China in 1962.
Thimayya was the only Indian to command an Infantry brigade in battle during the Second World War and is regarded as the most distinguished combat officer the Indian Army has produced.
After the Korean War, Thimayya headed a United Nations unit dealing with the repatriation of prisoners of war.
Kodandera Subayya Thimayya was born in Madikeri, the district town of Kodagu (formerly known as Coorg), Karnataka, on 31 March 1906, to Subayya and Sitamma into a Kodava family.
His family was one of the leading coffee planters in the area.
His mother, Sitamma, was highly educated and a social worker.
She was the recipient of Kaisar-e-Hind Medal, in recognition of her work in public service.
Thimayya was the third of six children in his family.
The eldest was Ponappa (m) (known as Ponnu), then Thimayya (known in the family as Dubbu, and by the British as Timmy), followed by Gangu (f), Dachu (f), Amavva (f) (known as Amie) and finally Somayya (m) (known as Freddie).
All the three boys of the family rose to become officers in the Indian Army.
On his father's side, Thimayya belonged to the Kodendera clan to which India's first commander-in-chief Cariappa also belonged (his uncle in fact).
His mother, Cheppudi Chittauwa (or Cheppusi Chittavva), was from the Cheppudira family.
1925
He then served as GSO2 (Ops) (a Grade II Staff Officer) of 25th Indian Division, the first Indian officer to get this coveted staff appointment.
His infantry division was conducting jungle warfare training and was preparing to go into Burma to face the Japanese Army during the Second World War, serving in the Second Arakan campaign.
1926
After completing his training, he was commissioned into the Indian Army on 4 February 1926 as a Second Lieutenant.
Amongst the other newly commissioned officers in his batch was Pran Nath Thapar, who would one day succeed Thimayya as Chief of Army Staff.
Thimayya was subsequently attached to the Highland Light Infantry as was the norm then, prior to a permanent posting with a regiment of the British Indian Army.
1927
He was soon posted to the 4th Battalion of the 19th Hyderabad Regiment (now Kumaon Regiment), with date from 28 May 1927.
1930
Appointed the regimental adjutant in September 1930, Thimayya honed his soldiering skills on that famous training ground in the Northwest Frontier (present-day Pakistan), battling recalcitrant Pathan tribals.
1935
His wife, Nina Thimayya, was a recipient of the Kaisar-e-Hind Medal for her philanthropic contribution during the 1935 Quetta earthquake.
His maternal uncle, C.B. Ponnappa, was in the first batch of commissioned Indian officers from the Indore defence school and a batchmate of Cariappa.
Desiring that he receive a good education, his family sent Thimayya, at the age of eight years, to St. Joseph's College in Coonoor, a convent run by Irish brothers.
Later, Thimayya was sent to Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore, along with his brothers.
After completing school, Thimayya was sent to the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College for military training and a stepping stone for a commission in the Indian Army.
In January 1935, Thimayya married Nina Cariappa (no relation to K M Cariappa).
He was then detailed to attend the Staff College at Quetta where he and his wife had earlier made a name for themselves by selfless service during the 1935 Quetta earthquake.
1936
On 20 March 1936, they had a daughter, Mireille.
The same April, Thimayya was posted as an Adjutant at the University Training Corps in Madras.
After this tenure, Thimayya was posted to his battalion in Singapore.
1941
In early 1941, he was promoted to the acting rank of Major, and at his request, was transferred to India in October.
Thimayya was posted as the Second-in-Command of a new raising (8/19 Hyderabad, later 8 Kumaon and 4 Kumaon) at the Hyderabad Regimental Centre in Agra.
1947
His elder brother Ponnappa (later joined INA) as well as younger brother Somayya (died in a mine accident in 1947–48 Kashmir operations) also joined the Indian army.
Following his graduation from RIMC, "Timmy", as he was affectionately known, was one of only six Indian cadets selected for further training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
1965
After his retirement from the Army, he was appointed Commander of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus from July 1964 to December 1965 and died in Cyprus while on active duty on 18 December 1965.
2019
In Burma, he was posted to his old regiment as Commanding Officer of 8/19th Hyderabad, which he led with outstanding success in battle of Kangaw.
For a short while the battalion was under the command of the 3rd Commando Brigade, with Brigadier C. R. Hardy at the helm, who during the height of a battle presented a trophy to the battalion.
It was a green beret — the commandos' head dress — with a little typed message on a card, "We cannot buy anything here but we would like you to accept this as a token of our great admiration for the bravery and achievement of your battalion."
For his outstanding service in battle, he was awarded the much coveted Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and also a Mention-in-Dispatches.
Thimayya represented the country during the surrender of the Japanese in Singapore, followed by the surrender of the Japanese in the Philippines.
At the ceremony of Japanese surrender in Singapore, he signed on behalf of India.
