World War II He was commissioned into the
Corps of Royal Engineers as a
Second Lieutenant on 5 April 1942. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 5 October 1942. The British
Special Operations Executive planned
Operation Animals to deceive the Axis Powers into believing that Greece was the target of an Allied amphibious landing, instead of Sicily. Gill served in this operation, for which he was awarded the
Military Cross in the
London Gazette on 3 February 1944 as a Lieutenant (acting Captain). His citation (which was not made public) read: He was also
mentioned in dispatches in the London Gazette of 6 April 1944 for services in the Middle East.
Post-Independence Just prior to
India's independence, Gill relinquished his British commission and joined the Indian Army. On 7 May 1947, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Indian Army (seniority from 5 July 1944) and with seniority in his former rank of second lieutenant from 5 January 1943. Gill attended the
Defence Services Staff College in 1954. In 1955, he took over command of the 1st battalion
The Parachute regiment (1 Para), and was promoted to
major on 5 January 1956. After Brigade and Division level commands, he was appointed the Director Military Training (DMT). He was the officiating Director Military Operations (DMO) during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Gill was awarded the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal as a
Major General in 1967 and was awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1972 for his role as the officiating Director of Military Operations in the
1971 Indo-Pak War. After the war, Gill was promoted to lieutenant-general on 1 April 1974. He commanded a Corps in the
eastern theater. Upon promotion to Army Commander, he served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Western Command, and retired on 1 June 1979. == Post-retirement ==