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 Roger Herbert Bower, (13 February 1903 – 9 January 1990) was a senior

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 became

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)

Malaya Command The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consi ...

from 1956 to 1957.

Military career

Roger Bower was born in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...

, England, on 13 February 1903, the son of Herbert Morris Bower and Eileen Francis Fitzgerald. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

and later attended 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 into the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

on 1 February 1923. Among his fellow graduates were Robert Poole, Geoffrey Bourne, Ernest Down, Archer Clive, Francis Matthews, John Carew Pole,

Hugh Stockwell General (United Kingdom), General Sir Hugh Charles Stockwell, (16 June 1903 – 27 November 1986) was a senior British Army officer most remembered for commanding the Anglo-French ground forces during the Suez Crisis and his service as Deputy Su ...

and Ronald Littledale. Bower served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment 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 ...

from 1923 to 1930.Sir Roger Herbert Bower
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives Promoted on 1 February 1925 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 ...

, after serving as his battalion's

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 ...

he then returned to England, where he attended 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 ...

, from 1935 to late 1936, and, like at Sandhurst, several of his fellow students were destined for

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

rank during the

or in the years after. They included Eric Bols, John Whitfield, Robert Arkwright,

Lewis Lyne Major General Lewis Owen Lyne, (21 August 1899 – 4 November 1970) was a British Army officer who served before and during the Second World War, rising from the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1939 to major general in early 1944. His active serv ...

, Geoffrey Bourne and Robert Poole, both fellow Sandhurst graduates, Freddie de Guingand, Leonard Holmes, Stephen Shoosmith,

Charles Dalton Charles Dalton (June 9, 1850 – December 9, 1933) was a Canadian businessman, politician and philanthropist on Prince Edward Island. Biography Charles Dalton was born at Tignish, Prince Edward Island, the son of Patrick Dalton and Margaret M ...

Charles Keightley General Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, (24 June 1901 – 17 June 1974) was a senior British Army officer who served during and following the Second World War. After serving with distinction during the Second World War – becoming, in 1944, th ...

, Charles Haydon, Walter Lentaigne, George Walsh,

Horatius Murray General Sir Horatius Murray, (18 April 1903 – 1989) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction during the Second World War and later in the Korean War. Early life and military career Educated at Peter Symonds School and th ...

, Charles Dunphie,

Terence Airey Lieutenant General Sir Terence Sydney Airey (9 July 1900 – 26 March 1983) was an officer in the British Army. Family and education Airey was the son of Sydney Airey. He was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military College, ...

and Gerald Lloyd-Verney. After graduating from Camberley, Bower, who on 1 February 1935 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 appointed as 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 Hong Kong from 1937 to 1938. He then returned again to England in November 1938 where he served as a General staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) 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 ...

, in which role he was serving upon the outbreak of the war in September 1939. On 1 January 1939 Bower was promoted to the

brevet rank In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Promoted on 1 February 1940 to major, Bower saw the early period of the Second World War in the War Office. However, on 23 April 1941 he was promoted to the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows military personnel to assume a higher military rank, which is usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the natu ...

of lieutenant colonel and made

Commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...

of the 1st Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

. Later in the year the battalion was transferred to the

airborne forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...

and converted into a

glider infantry Glider infantry (also referred to as airlanding infantry esp. in British usage) was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy-controlled territory via military glider. Initially developed in the ...

unit. He also served at Headquarters 1 Airborne Corps in North West Europe and participated in Operation Market Garden, being personally involved in the attack by 1 Airborne Corps on

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

in 1944. He was commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade in Norway in 1945. After the war Bower was deployed with the 6th Airlanding Brigade 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 ...

from 1945 to 1946 and then went to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

District from 1948 to 1949. He was appointed Director Land/Air Warfare at the

in 1950 and Director of Military Training and Director of Land/Air Warfare in 1951. He was General Officer Commanding East Anglian District from 1952 to 1955 and then Chief of Staff Allied Forces, Northern Europe from 1955 to 1956, when he was made

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 ...

and Director of Operations for Malaya. His final post was as Commander-in-Chief

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

in Cyprus in 1958; he retired in 1960. Following retirement, he was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1960 to 1963.Earl Alexander New Constable Of Tower 1960
/ref>

References

External links

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Roger 1903 births 1990 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army brigadiers of World War II British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Tower of London People educated at Repton School People from Andover, Hampshire Military personnel from Hampshire