Major-General Alwyne Michael Webster Whistler, (30 December 1909 – 30 September 1993) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served chiefly with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

(abbreviated R Signals), spending many years in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Whistler saw active service against the Japanese in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. He ended his career as

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Min ...

(Signals) and was also

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the R Signals.Philip Warner, ''The Vital Link: the story of Royal Signals, 1945-1985'' (1989), p. 338

Life

Webster was the second son of the Rev. Webster William Whistler, of

Elsted Elsted is a village, Anglican parish and former civil parish, now in the civil parish of Elsted and Treyford, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The village is on the Midhurst to South Harting Road 4.5 miles (7.2 km) ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, and Lilian, daughter of Rev. Richard Corker Meade,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the family of the

Earls of Clanwilliam Earl of Clanwilliam is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for John Meade, 1st Viscount Clanwilliam. The Meade (surname), Meade family descends from Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet, Sir John Meade, who represented Dublin Unive ...

. The Whistler family had a clerical tradition; Webster Whistler's father, Rose Fuller Whistler (1825–1894), was rector of

Elton, Huntingdonshire Elton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Elton lies approximately south-west of Peterborough. Elton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a ...

, formerly vicar of Ashburnham, near

Battle, Sussex Battle is a town and civil parish in the district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Battle is in the designated ...

, his elder brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

was a clergyman as well as a writer of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

, and his elder son, Alwyne's brother, Humphrey — also a dedicated amateur

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

— took holy orders. The family were related to the artist brothers

Rex Whistler Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 190518 July 1944) was a British artist, who painted murals and society portraits, and designed theatrical costumes. He was killed in action in Normandy in World War II. Whistler was the brother of poet and ...

and

Laurence Whistler Sir Alan Charles Laurence Whistler (21 January 1912 – 19 December 2000) was a British glass engraver and poet. He was both the first President of the British Guild of Glass Engravers and the first recipient of the King's Gold Medal for Poe ...

, as well as, distantly, to the artist

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

. Whistler was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, after which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the R Sigs in 1929. From 1932 to 1944 he served in India, and was Master of Fox Hounds to the Nerbudda Vale Hunt from 1938 to 1940. In 1944 he passed the Staff College, then fought in the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

with the 19th and 25th Indian Divisions and the Twelfth Army, being twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. In 1946 he was posted to Berlin and was Military Adviser to the Military Governor of Germany, 1946 to 1948. After a year as Assistant Quartermaster-General at the War Office, he went to the Combined Staff College in 1950. He was commanding officer of the R Sigs, 3rd Division, 1951–1954, a Colonel at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, 1955–1957, a Colonel of

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded b ...

, 1957–1958, commanding officer of Corps of Royal Signals, 1 (British) Corps,

BAOR British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO, NATO's Northern Army Gr ...

, 1959–1960, then Signal Officer-in-Chief at the War Office, 1960–1962. His next posting was as Chairman of the British Joint Communications Board at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, from 1962 to 1964, before he completed his career as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Signals), 1964–1965."WHISTLER, Maj.-Gen. Alwyne Michael Webster", in '' Who Was Who 1991–1995'' (London: A. & C. Black, 1996, ) In 1936, Whistler married Margaret Louise Michelette Welch, a daughter of Brigadier-General Malcolm Welch, of Stedham, Sussex, and they had one son and two daughters. His wife died in 1986, and Whistler himself in 1993. At the time of his death, Whistler was living at 8, Shirley Road,

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parishes in England, civil parish, in the England, English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome southwest of Poole. Situa ...

. He left an estate valued at £273,900.

Honours

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

, 1960 * CB (military division), 1963 *Hon. Colonel, Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment (41st Signals) Territorial Army, 1963–1966 *Colonel Commandant, Royal Corps of Signals, 1964–1968 *Hon. Colonel, 32nd (Scottish) Signal Regiment (Volunteers), 1967–1972''The London Gazette'', issue 44307 (Supplement) dated 9 May 1967
p. 5193
/ref> *Princess Mary Medal, Royal Signals Institution, 1978

Notes

External links

Alwyne Michael Webster Whistler
at National Portrait Gallery, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Whistler, Alwyne Michael Webster 1909 births 1993 deaths Royal Corps of Signals officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Masters of foxhounds People educated at Gresham's School British people in colonial India British expatriates in Germany Military personnel from West Sussex Military personnel from Dorset