Henry Templar Alexander

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry Templer Alexander , CB , CBE , DSO (* May 17, 1911 , † March 16, 1977 ) was a British major general in the British Army who was chief of the defense staff and commander of the Ghana's armed forces between 1960 and 1961 .

Life

Military training and World War II

Alexander, son of Major General Henry Lethbridge Alexander , completed after the visit, which was founded in 1525 Sedbergh School military training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and joined after its completion in 1931 as a lieutenant (Second Lieutenant) in the Rifle Regiment Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) a. In 1934 he was promoted to first lieutenant (Lieutenant) . After his promotion to captain (Captain) in 1939, he returned to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and worked there as an instructor until 1940. During the Second World War he took part in combat missions in North Africa , Italy , British India , Burma and northwestern Europe between 1940 and 1945 . In 1940 he was given the temporary rank of Major (Temporary Major) . He served as Brigade Major between 1941 and 1942 and was then General Staff Officer of the Second Degree at Headquarters for Combined Operations in 1942, before he was Second Degree General Staff Officer for Staff Affairs at the Headquarters of the Allied Forces AFHQ ( Allied Forces Headquarters ) for the theater of war between 1942 and 1943 .

In 1943 Alexander became a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Also in 1943 he was awarded the military service-related rank of major (War Substantive Major) and the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) . On 28 October 1943, he was on 28 October 1943 Acting Lieutenant Colonel (Acting Lieutenant-Colonel) and was during the Italian campaign in 1944 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the 2nd Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) . After he was awarded the provisional rank of brigadier general (Acting Brigadier) on April 1, 1944, and on April 28, 1944 the rank of lieutenant colonel (War Substantive Lieutenant-Colonel) and the temporary rank of colonel (Temporary Colonel) , he was an officer on the operations staff of the Chindits special unit commanded by Major General Orde Charles Wingate during Operation Thursday .

Alexander, who was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1945, was a First Degree General Staff Officer between 1945 and 1946 after the end of the war and, after his promotion to Major, from 1946 to 1947 Chief Instructor at the School of Combined Operations ) . Subsequently, he served from 1948 to 1950 first as a staff officer level for operations at overseas military forces in Hong Kong (British Forces Overseas Hong Kong) and 1950-1952 first as a staff officer degree in Corporate Office of the Staff College, Camberley . During his use there he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel (Lieutenant-Colonel) on July 1, 1951 , before he was promoted to lieutenant colonel (Lieutenant-Colonel) on June 6, 1953 . As such, he was between 1954 and 1955 commander of the 1st Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) . On May 27, 1955 took place his promotion to Colonel (Colonel) , this promotion was backdated to June 9 1954th In the following years he was from 1955 to 1957 commander of the 26th Gurkha -Infanteriebrigade (26th Gurkha Brigade Infantery) .

Promotion to major general and chief of staff in Ghana

Alexander, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1957 for his services as commander of the 26th Gurkha Infantery Brigade in the fight against communist rebels , was Senior Instructor at Staff College Camberley in 1958. After his promotion to Brigadier General (Brigadier) on January 1, 1959, he was General Staff Officer in the office of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff , Field Marshal Francis Festing, and also graduated from the Imperial Defense College .

On 11 January 1960 a major general, he was first the temporary rank (Temporary Major-General) awarded before to the January 15, 1960 Major General (Major-General) was promoted. Subsequently, Alexander, who became Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1960, succeeded Major General AGV Paley as Commander of the Army of Ghana on January 11, 1960 . At the same time he took over the newly created post as chief of the defense staff of the armed forces of Ghana . He performed these functions in personal union until December 24, 1961 and was then replaced as Chief of Defense Staff by Major General Stephen Otu and Army Commander by Brigadier General Joseph Arthur Ankrah , who had previously been in command of the Ghanaian contingent during the United Nations operation in Congo .

After his return, Alexander, who was also awarded the title of Companion des Order of the Bath (CB) for his services , was appointed Chief of Staff of the Northern Command in York on June 25, 1962, where he remained Post until June 1, 1965. On June 25, 1965 he was retired. In 1968 he took on the role of British representative in the International Observation Team during the Biafra War in Nigeria . He was last seen as the successor to Lieutenant General George Collingwood between 1 January 1969 to the 11 November 1973 Honorary Colonel (Honorary Colonel) of the shooter regiment Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) respectively since July 1, 1970 Representative Colonel of this regiment. His successor was then on November 11, 1975 Brigadier General David Balfour Riddell-Webster .

publication

  • African tightrope. My two years as Nkrumah's Chief of Staff , Pall Mall Press, London, 1965

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36173, HMSO, London, September 14, 1943, p. 4119 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  2. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 37262, HMSO, London, September 11, 1945, p. 4555 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  3. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 41079, HMSO, London, May 24, 1957, p. 3156 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  4. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 42051, HMSO, London, June 3, 1960, p. 3978 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  5. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 42370, HMSO, London, June 2, 1961, p. 4145 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  6. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 44760, HMSO, London, January 3, 1969, p. 200 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  7. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 45303, HMSO, London, February 12, 1971, p. 1399 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
  8. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 46464, HMSO, London, January 14, 1975, p. 510 ( PDF , accessed October 8, 2016, English).
personal data
SURNAME Alexander, Henry Templar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Major General
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1911
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 1977