Major General Sir William Douglas Smith (24 March 1865 – 4 February 1939) 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 became

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey The lieutenant governor of Jersey (Jèrriais:, "Governor of Jersey"), properly styled the lieutenant-governor of Jersey (), is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a dependency of the British Crown. Presentl ...

Military career

Smith was the son of Lt.-Col. Andrew William Douglas Smith,

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and Myra Elizabeth Luxmoore, an artist. After 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 ...

, Smith was commissioned into the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

as a

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 29 August 1885. He took part in the Burma expedition in 1886, 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 ...

on 14 November 1894, and took part in the Tirah campaign in 1897. He was made an

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 ...

in September 1898. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 14 December 1902, while serving with the 1st Battalion of his regiment stationed in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He was appointed 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 India in 1905 and, on 1 July 1911, after being promoted to lieutenant colonel, served as

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 ...

(CO) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers. He served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, being promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general on 11 November 1914 and taking command of the 9th Infantry Brigade, part of the 3rd Division, which was serving on the Western Front. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in February 1915. He was promoted to substantive colonel on 1 July 1915, although with his seniority dating back to 14 December 1914. On 8 March 1916 he was promoted to temporary major general and 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) of the

20th (Light) Division The 20th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, raised in the First World War. The division was formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division landed in France July 1915 an ...

, and then as GOC 56th (1/1st London) Division, both of which were also serving on the Western Front. After receiving a promotion to the substantive rank of major general in January 1917, "for distinguished services in the field", he took command of the 56th Division on a temporary basis between 24 July and 9 August 1917 after his predecessor, Major General Charles Hull, had been taken ill and until a permanent appointment could be made.The Tactical Development of the 56th (London) Division on the Western Front 1916 to 1918
/ref> After the war he became commander of

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Garrison and then

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before retiring from the army in 1924.

Family

He married Kathleen Edith Beyts and had one daughter.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William Douglas 1865 births 1939 deaths British Army major generals Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Governors of Jersey British Army generals of World War I British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War British military personnel of the Tirah campaign People from Stonehouse, Plymouth 19th-century British Army personnel Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst