Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Ernest Edward Down, (10 February 1902 – 15 February 1980) was a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

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 ...

, who saw active service 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 ...

Military career

Ernest Down was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the List of British Army regiments (1881), county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although ...

in February 1923. Down served in the

, attending a short course at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

in 1940, being appointed commander of the 2nd Parachute Brigade, then serving in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

in 1942. He went on to be

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 ...

(GOC) 1st Airborne Division, taking over from Major General George Hopkinson who had been

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

in September 1943, in the early stages of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

. He was then GOC of the 9th Indian Airborne Division, which itself became the 44th Indian Airborne Division in 1944 and GOC of 2nd Indian Airborne Division in 1945. After the war, on 26 September 1946, Down was appointed GOC of the 4th Infantry Division in Greece. In 1947, after the division had been disbanded, he became GOC of all British Troops in Greece. Then in 1948, he became head of the British Military Mission to Greece. Returning to the United Kingdom, he was appointed District Officer Commanding Mid-West District and GOC

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw servic ...

in 1950 and GOC-in Chief of Southern Command in 1952, a post from which he retired in 1955. Down was also

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korea ...

from 1955 to 1957.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Biography of Lieutenant General Sir Ernest Edward Down
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Down, Ernest 1902 births 1980 deaths Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from Cornwall British Army generals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Dorset Regiment officers British Army lieutenant generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst