Major General Edward Alexander Wilmot Williams, (8 June 1910 – 2 November 1994) 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 in 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 ...

and later commanded the 2nd Division from 1960 to 1962.

Military career

Alexander Williams was born on 8 June 1910 in Herringston House,

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

, England, the son of Captain Berkeley Cole Wilmot Williams, a

officer, and the Hon. Winifred Mary Williams, the elder daughter of the second Lord Addington. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

before attending the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, from where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

(KRRC) on 28 August 1930. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion, KRRC, then serving in

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, sout ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, before the battalion moved in 1932 to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 28 August 1933, the 2nd KRRC returned to England in 1935. Williams, along with the battalion, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel

Evelyn Barker General (United Kingdom), General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker, (22 May 1894 – 23 November 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter, he commanded the 10th Infantry Br ...

, was sent to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1936, following the outbreak of the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

, before again returning to England in 1937, where it was converted into a

motorised infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which c ...

battalion and became part of the Mobile Division (from April 1939 the 1st Armoured Division), under Major General

Alan Brooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Secon ...

. In January 1939 Williams, who on 28 August 1938 was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, was made

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to the 2nd KRRC, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Wilson after Barker was promoted to command a brigade. Williams was still adjutant upon the outbreak of the

in September 1939. By then the battalion, alongside the 1st

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, formed the infantry component of the 1st Support Group, under Brigadier Frederick Morgan, of the 1st Armoured Division, now under Major General Roger Evans. Instead of being sent to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), however, the division remained in the United Kingdom. In late April 1940 the 2nd KRRC, now under Lieutenant-Colonel Euan Miller, and the 1st Rifle Brigade were transferred to the 30th Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier Claude Nicholson, and was initially to be sent to Norway to fight in the Norwegian Campaign. However, the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

invaded France and the brigade was instead sent, in mid-May, to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, France, where, despite fighting for several days, the 30th Brigade, along with most of the battalion—including Williams—was forced to surrender, most spending the rest of the conflict as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(POW). Williams managed to escape and, after returning to the United Kingdom, was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, for "gallant and distinguished services in recent operations", on 3 September 1940. He was made a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) at the

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment formed in 1916 by Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General R. J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-ser ...

, before being made a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

in late July 1942. In mid-December he was made a GSO2 with the headquarters of the First Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson. The army was then serving in

French North Africa French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...

, having landed there as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

some five weeks earlier. Williams remained in this post through most of the rest of the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

until, in mid-April 1943, he was made a GSO1 with a division. Upon relinquishing this appointment six months later, he was, in late January 1944, given a field command, and became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, KRRC. The battalion was serving in North Africa as the motorised infantry element of Brigadier

Richard Goodbody General Sir Richard Wakefield Goodbody, (12 April 1903 – 29 April 1981) was a senior British Army officer who served as Adjutant General from 1960 to 1963. Military career Educated at Rugby School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Ri ...

's 2nd Armoured Brigade, itself part of the 1st Armoured Division, then under Major General Alexander Galloway. On 3 February Williams was

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 ...

for his services. The battalion was training for eventual participation in the Italian campaign. Williams landed in Italy with his battalion, and most of the rest of the 1st Armoured Division, in late May 1944. In late June the battalion was transferred to the 9th Armoured Brigade, before returning to the 2nd Armoured Brigade and taking part in severe fighting in front of the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

. Williams commanded the battalion throughout most of the battalion's service in Italy until, in March 1945, he was promoted to the acting rank of brigadier (and colonel on the same date) and was posted to

Allied Forces Headquarters Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) was the headquarters that controlled all Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean theatre of World War II from August 1942 until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. History AFHQ was established i ...

, before being made a GSO1 with HQ Central Mediterranean Force from October until December 1946. After the war Williams became Assistant Adjutant-General 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 ...

and then, from 1954, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade in 1956,

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

2nd Division in 1960 and chief of staff at Headquarters

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 ...

in May 1962.Army Commands
His last appointments were as General Officer Commanding Singapore from November 1962 and Chairman of the Vehicle Committee 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 1964 before retiring in 1965. In 1970 Williams became

High Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Governmen ...

. He died on 2 November 1994, at the age of 84.

Family

In 1943 Williams married Sybilla Margaret Archdale. Their daughter Victoria Mary married

Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland Francis Ronald Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland (born 18 February 1940), known as Francis Ronald Egerton until 2000, is a British peer from the Egerton family. Family Sutherland is the son of Cyril Reginald Egerton, the grandson of Francis Eg ...

, on 11 May 1974.The Peerage.com
/ref>

References

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alexander Edward Wilmot 1910 births 1994 deaths Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies British Army major generals British Army brigadiers of World War II British escapees British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine British World War II prisoners of war Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Deputy lieutenants of Dorset Escapees from German detention Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst High sheriffs of Dorset Joint Forces Staff College alumni King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People educated at Eton College People from Dorchester, Dorset Recipients of the Military Cross World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Military personnel from Dorset