Richard Gale (General)

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Richard Nelson Gale, 1944

Sir Richard Nelson Gale GCB , KBE , DSO , MC (born July 25, 1896 in London , † July 29, 1982 ibid) was a British general who fought in the First and Second World Wars.

Life

Gale joined the army in 1915 and fought in World War I as a second lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps . He was awarded the Military Cross for his services in the war . After the war he served in India from 1919 to 1936, after which he was transferred to the staff of The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as captain and later and as a major to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers .

Major General Gale speaks to men from the 5th Paratrooper Brigade the day before D-Day

During the Second World War he was assigned to the staff of the 1st Paratrooper Brigade. In 1943 and 1944 he was in command of the British 6th Airborne Division , which fought in Operation Neptune ( Operation Tonga ) in Normandy .

In 1945 he was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Allied Airborne Army and in the same year the commander of the 1st British Airborne Corps. After commanding the 1st British Infantry Division from 1946 to 1947, he became General Officer Commanding the British Forces in Egypt in 1948 . From 1949 to 1952 he was responsible for military training at the War Office . After commanding the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) from 1952 to 1957 , he retired in 1957. However, he returned to the army a year later to replace Bernard Montgomery as Deputy Commander in Chief for Europe. He stayed in this position until 1960.

On June 8, 1950 he was knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and from then on carried the suffix "Sir". On January 1, 1953 he was also Knight Commander and on January 1, 1954 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath .

Richard Nelson Gale died on July 29, 1982 in Kingston upon Thames , London .

Works

  • With the 6th Airborne Div in Normandy , Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London, 1948
  • Call to arms. An autobiography , Hutchinson, London, 1968
  • Great battles of biblical history , Hutchinson, London, 1968, ISBN 0-09-089620-3
  • The Worcestershire Regiment, the 29th and 36th Regiments of foot , Leo Cooper, London, 1970, ISBN 0-85052-031-2
  • Kings at arms: the use and abuse of power in the great kingdoms of the East , Hutchinson, London, 1971, ISBN 0-09-107950-0

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gale, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gale, Richard Nelson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British general
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1982
Place of death Kingston upon Thames , London