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 Arthur Edward Grasett (20 October 1888 – 4 December 1971) was a British-Canadian soldier who served with the British Army in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and China.

Education

Grasett was born in 1888 in Plymouth, the eldest son of Arthur Wanton Grasell of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and Catharine Frances Hewett of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, daughter of Army officer Edward Osborne Hewett. He was educated at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

in Toronto. He enrolled at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

in 1906.

Military service

Grasett was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 24th of June 1909.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served with distinction during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, earning the

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

(MC) in 1915, the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in 1918, and five times mentioned in despatches. He then attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1920 to 1921. He served on operations on the North West Frontier of

from 1921 and then as a General Staff Officer at the Staff College from 1935. As a

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

, he served on the General Staff in the headquarters of Northern Command from 1937 and was appointed Commander of British Troops in China in 1938. The Free French during the Second World War H31461

The Free French during the Second World War H31461

Grasett served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 48th (South Midland) Division from 1941 and, promoted to acting lieutenant general on 7 November 1941, was made GOC of

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

on the South Coast of England from November 1941. In 1944 he was posted to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and served as Chief of the European Allied Contact Section of the

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

under General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

from 1944 to 1945. He was appointed

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey (, Jèrriais: ''Gouvèrneux d'Jèrri'') is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The Lieutenant Governor has his own flag in Jersey, ...

and Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers in 1945 and retired in 1947.

Awards and recognition

* Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1945) * CB (16 July 1940) * MC (17 January 1916) * DSO (5 June 1919) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (15 August 1946) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

(21 June 1945) * Chief Commander Legion Legion of Merit (8 November 1945)Extract from London Gazette 9 November 1945
/ref> *

1914 Star The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Institution The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in No ...

** Clasp *

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal * India General Service Medal ** Clasp Waziristan 1921–24 * He was also MID five times. * 19 October 1914 * 1 January 1916 * 4 January 1917 * 11 December 1917 * 5 July 1919

Family

In 1935, he married Joan Mary, who was the daughter of JK Foster of Egton Manor,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

References

Sources

*4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto,

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

, 1969. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982 *H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876–1918. Volume II: 1919–1984. Royal Military College. ingston The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984 *

External links

Biography of Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Edward GRASETT
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grasett, Arthur Edward 1888 births 1971 deaths Canadian Anglicans Canadian generals British Army generals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit Royal Military College of Canada alumni Upper Canada College alumni Governors of Jersey Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army lieutenant generals Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Burials in Ontario British emigrants to Canada