Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Arthur Francis Fisher, (11 July 1899 – 28 August 1972) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served as acting General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

Military career

After attending the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, Fisher was commissioned into the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

on 6 June 1918. 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 i ...

from 1935 to 1936. He became commanding officer of the

East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1902. Units of Yeomanry Cavalry were raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries at times of national emergency: the Jacobite Rising ...

in 1940 and went on to see action in North Africa, becoming commander of 1st Armoured Brigade in March 1942, commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in June 1942 and commander of 22nd Armoured Brigade in July 1942. He briefly became acting General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division when Major-General

Alexander Gatehouse Major-General Alexander Hugh Gatehouse DSO & bar MC (20 May 1895 – 21 August 1964) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 10th Armoured Division during the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military career He jo ...

was wounded in action in North Africa on 22 July 1942 and remained in the role until relieved on 15 August 1942. He was appointed a Companion of 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, typ ...

on 17 June 1943. He then became commander of 2nd Armoured Brigade in North Africa later in August 1942 and led his brigade at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

in October 1942 before becoming Brigadier

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

for the 2nd Army in 1943 and then deputy director of the Royal Armoured Corps at 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 ...

in November 1944.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Arthur Francis 1899 births 1972 deaths Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army major generals Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Field Artillery officers British Army brigadiers of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich War Office personnel in World War II