Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Sir Harry Edward de Robillard Wetherall, (22 February 1889 – 18 November 1979) was an officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars.

Military career

Wetherall was commissioned into the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

in 1909. He served in the First World War in France and Belgium, becoming

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of 2/4th Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1917. In March 1918 he was seriously wounded by a piece of shell in his neck.''The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry'', G. K. Rose
/ref> After the war he became a lieutenant colonel in the Machine Gun Corps and then a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

for Weapon Training in Scottish Command in 1930. He then served in Palestine where he was appointed Commanding Officer of

1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment o ...

in 1936 and then

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of 19th Brigade in 1938. He served in the Second World War as General Officer Commanding 11th African Division in Abyssinia in 1941: he was part of the "Southern Front" for this campaign and commanded the Division during the advance from Kenya, through Italian Somaliland, and into Ethiopia. In late 1941, with the campaign all but over, the 11th African Division was disbanded and he became General Officer Commanding the East Africa Force. He was then appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon in 1943. After the war he became Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon at a time when the

Sri Lankan independence struggle The Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which was aimed at achieving independence and self-rule for the country of Sri Lanka, then British Ceylon, from the British Empire. The switch of powers was generally kn ...

was ongoing; he retired in 1946.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetherall, Harry Edward De Robillard 1889 births British Army lieutenant generals 1979 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Gloucestershire Regiment officers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military history of British Somaliland during World War II Military history of Ceylon in World War II Military personnel from London People from Belgravia Recipients of the Military Cross York and Lancaster Regiment officers