Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Nevil Macready, 2nd Baronet (5 April 1891 – 17 October 1956) 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 Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff 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 opposi ...

Military career

Born in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, British Ceylon, on 5 April 1891, the son of Sir Nevil Macready, Gordon Macready was sent to

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 ...

and was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

and later entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Engineers on 23 December 1910. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 21 December 1912, Macready served on the Western Front during the

First World War 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 ...

becoming Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General (AA&QMG) for the

66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, which saw service in the trenches of the Western Front, during the later years of the Great War and was disbanded after the w ...

in 1917. He was promoted to captain on 23 December 1916,Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> and brevet major on 3 June 1917. After the war, from April 1919, he became Assistant Adjutant General for the British Military Mission to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1923 to 1924, he was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence in 1926, which was followed by attendance at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1933, Deputy Director of Staff Duties 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 1936 and Head of the British Military Mission to Egypt in 1938. He served in the

as Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff from October 1940 and as Head of the British Army mission in

Washington D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1942 until his retirement in 1946. In retirement he became Regional Commissioner for

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

in 1946, British Chairman of the Economic Control Office for the British and American Zones of Germany in 1947 and then Economic Advisor to the UK High Commissioner in 1949. He is author of the book ''In the wake of the great'' published by Clowes in 1965.

Family

In 1920 he married Elisabeth Pauline Sabine Marie de Noailles; they had one son, Sir Nevil Macready, 3rd Bt.Angelfire
/ref>

Arms

References

Bibliography

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External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macready, Gordon 1891 births 1956 deaths People of British Ceylon Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Legion of Honour People educated at Cheltenham College People from Kandy Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Engineers officers War Office personnel in World War II