Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada and the first Lord Lieutenant of Greater London in 1965.

Alexander was born in London to aristocratic parents, and was educated at Harrow before moving on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, for training as an army officer of the Irish Guards. He rose to prominence through his service in the First World War, receiving numerous honours and decorations, and continued his military career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia. In the Second World War, Alexander oversaw the final stages of the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk and subsequently held high-ranking field commands in Burma, North Africa and Italy, including serving as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commanding the 18th Army Group in Tunisia. He then commanded the 15th Army Group for the capture of Sicily and again in Italy before receiving his field marshal's baton and being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean.

In 1946, he was appointed as Governor General of Canada by King George VI, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King, to replace the Earl of Athlone as viceroy, and he occupied the post until he was succeeded by Vincent Massey in 1952. Alexander proved to be enthusiastic about the Canadian wilderness and popular with Canadians. He was the last Governor General before Adrienne Clarkson who was not born in Canada as well as the last Governor General to be a peer.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and thereafter, in order to serve as the British Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Winston Churchill, into the Imperial Privy Council. Alexander retired in 1954 and died in 1969.

Early life and military career

Alexander was born in London into an aristocratic family from County Tyrone of Anglo-Irish descent. He was the third son of James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon, and Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler, Countess of Caledon, a daughter of the 3rd Earl of Norbury. Alexander was educated at Hawtreys and Harrow School, there participating as the 11th batsman in the sensational Fowler's Match against Eton College in 1910. Though Alexander toyed with the notion of becoming an artist, he went instead on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1910.

After passing out from Sandhurst he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards on 23 September 1911. He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 December 1912.

First World War

Alexander spent most of the First World War on the Western Front. As a 22-year-old platoon commander in the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, he served with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1914. He took part in the retreat from Mons and was wounded at First Ypres and invalided home. He was promoted to temporary captain on 15 November 1914 and permanent captain in the newly raised 2nd Battalion on 7 February the following year.

Alexander returned to the Western Front in August 1915, fought at the Battle of Loos and was, for ten days in October 1915, an acting major and acting Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, as a "Battle Casualty Replacement". He then returned to the 2nd Battalion as a company officer and, in January 1916, received the Military Cross for his bravery at Loos. For service in the Battle of the Somme on 15 September 1916, he was, in October, appointed to the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the citation for which read: "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He was the life and soul of the attack, and throughout the day led forward not only his own men but men of all regiments. He held the trenches gained in spite of heavy machine gun fire." In the same month, Alexander was further honoured with induction into the French Légion d'honneur.

On 10 December 1916, his twenty-fifth birthday, Alexander became second-in-command (2-i-c) of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, as an acting major. By May, he was briefly acting CO of the 1st Battalion, as an acting lieutenant colonel, while still only a substantive captain. He became a permanent major on 1 August 1917, and was again promoted acting lieutenant colonel, this time confirmed as CO of the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, on 15 October. Alexander commanded his battalion at Third Ypres, where he was slightly wounded, then at Bourlon Wood (part of the battle of Cambrai), where his battalion suffered 320 casualties out of 400 men. Alexander, between 23 and 30 March 1918, had to assume command of the 4th Guards Brigade, during the British retreat from the German Army's Spring Offensive. He once again commanded the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, at Hazebrouck in April 1918, where it took such severe casualties that it saw no further action. Still an acting lieutenant colonel, he then commanded a corps infantry school in October 1918, a month before the war ended on 11 November 1918.

Rudyard Kipling, who wrote a history of the Irish Guards, in which his own son, Jack Kipling, fought and was killed in action, noted that, "it is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the men on the lines to which they most readily responded... His subordinates loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their shortcomings; and his men were all his own."

Between the wars

Alexander in 1919 served with the Allied Control Commission in Poland. As a temporary lieutenant-colonel, he led the Baltic German Landeswehr in the Latvian War of Independence, commanding units loyal to Latvia in the successful drive to eject the Bolsheviks from Latgalia. During service there, he was accidentally wounded by one of his own sentries on 9 October 1919.

Alexander returned to Britain in May 1920 as a major, second in command of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards; in May 1922, he was promoted substantive lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer. He commanded the battalion at Constantinople (a sensitive posting in the runup to the Chanak Crisis), then Gibraltar from October 1922, then in London from April 1923 until January 1926, when he was released from that role to attend the British Army Staff College from 1926 to 1927. There, two of Alexander's instructors—the future field marshals Alan Brooke and Bernard Montgomery—were unimpressed by him. Alexander was then in February 1928 promoted to colonel (backdated to 14 May 1926) and was the next month appointed Officer Commanding the Irish Guards Regimental District and 140th (4th London) Infantry Brigade, part of 47th (1/2nd London) Division, in the Territorial Army (TA), a post he held until January 1930, when he again returned to study, attending the Imperial Defence College in London for one year.

Alexander then held staff appointments as (from January 1931) GSO2 in the Directorate of Military Training at the War Office and (1932–1934) GSO1 at HQ Northern Command in York, before being made in October 1934 a temporary brigadier and given command of the Nowshera Brigade, on the Northwest Frontier in India. For his service there, and in particular for his actions in the Loe-Agra operations against the Pathans in Malakand between February and April 1935, Alexander was that year made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India and was mentioned in dispatches. He was mentioned once more for his service during the Second Mohmand Campaign in Northwest Frontier Province from August to October of the same year, serving under Brigadier Claude Auchinleck. Alexander had a reputation for leading from the front and for reaching mountain crests with or even ahead of his troops.

In March 1937, Alexander was appointed as one of the aides-de-camp to the recently acceded King George VI and in May returned to the United Kingdom to take part in this capacity in the state procession through London during the King's coronation. Alexander would have been seen in this event by two of his Canadian viceregal successors: Vincent Massey, who was then the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and Massey's secretary, Georges Vanier, who watched the procession from the roof of Canada House on Trafalgar Square. Following the coronation celebration, Alexander returned to India, where he was made the honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment, and then in October 1937 was promoted to the rank of major-general, making Alexander the youngest general in the British Army. He relinquished command of his brigade in January 1938, and in February returned to the United Kingdom to take command of the 1st Infantry Division. In June 1938 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Second World War

Belgium and France 1939−1940

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, Alexander brought the 1st Division to France, where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and served there for the next eight months. In May 1940, when the German Army invaded France, he successfully led the division's withdrawal to Dunkirk, where it was evacuated to England, along with the rest of the BEF. Shortly after Major-General Bernard Montgomery had been appointed to command II Corps (and before that the 3rd Division), Alexander was, while still on the beachhead, placed in command of I Corps, and left the eastern mole on the destroyer ''Venomous'' late on 2 June after ensuring that all British troops had been evacuated. In recognition of his services in the field from March to June 1940, Alexander was again mentioned in despatches.

United Kingdom 1940−1942

After Dunkirk, Alexander returned to the United Kingdom and continued to command I Corps, now guarding the coasts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire as part of Northern Command. He was promoted acting lieutenant-general in July 1940, and in December 1940 he was appointed to succeed Claude Auchinleck as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Southern Command, which was responsible for the defence of south-west England. His rank of lieutenant-general was made permanent in December 1940. While he was here he came into contact with Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, who was then serving under his command as GOC of V Corps. Montgomery and Auchinleck had never seen eye-to-eye on much but Alexander, believing Montgomery, who had been one of Alexander's instructors at the Staff College in the mid-1920s, knew what he was doing, simply allowed Montgomery (or "Monty") to continue with what he was doing. The two men got along well and their relationship would continue in a similar manner later on in the war.

It was during this period and most of 1941 where Alexander came to the attention of his superiors, the most notable among them being General Sir Alan Brooke, then the Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces (and in December 1941 succeeding John Dill as Chief of the Imperial General Staff), and Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister. Churchill in particular became a great admirer of Alexander and visited him numerous times throughout 1941, nominating Alexander as the commander of Force 110. Created on paper as the first expeditionary force since the BEF's evacuation from France the year before, Force 110 was considered for several projects throughout the year of 1941, such as landings in the Azores, the Canary Islands and Sicily, but these were, perhaps fortunately, all ultimately abandoned.

Burma and India 1942

On 1 January 1942 he was knighted and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in February, after the Japanese invasion of Burma, was sent to India to become GOC-in-C of British Forces in Burma as a full general. Alexander was unable to fulfil his orders to hold Rangoon, which was abandoned on 6–7 March. He took personal charge of some small local engagements, and was encircled by the Japanese troops in the Battle of Yenangyaung. Rescued by Chinese troops commanded by General Sun Li-jen, Alexander was able to escape. Following that, Alexander increasingly left much of the tactical conduct of the campaign to his corps commander, Lieutenant-General William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, William Slim, while he himself handled the more political aspects of relations with Joseph Stilwell, the nominal commander of the Chinese forces. Alexander was promoted to Commander-in-chief, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Allied Land Forces in Burma, March 1942, and ordered Slim to abandon Mandalay and retreat to India.

The Middle East and North Africa 1942−1943

By July 1942, the British and Indian forces in Burma had completed their fighting retreat into India, and Alexander, having yet again been mentioned in despatches for his Burma service, was recalled to the United Kingdom. He was at first selected to command the First Army (United Kingdom), British First Army, which was to take part in Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa. However, following a visit in early August to Egypt by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alan Brooke, Alexander flew to Cairo on 8 August to replace General Claude Auchinleck, Alexander's predecessor at Southern Command in the United Kingdom, as C-in-C of Middle East Command, the post responsible for the overall conduct of the Western Desert Campaign, campaign in the desert of North Africa. At the same time, Lieutenant-General Montgomery replaced Auchinleck as GOC of the Eighth Army (United Kingdom), British Eighth Army. Alexander presided over Montgomery's victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein and the advance of the Eighth Army to Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli, for which Alexander was elevated to a Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and, after the Anglo-American forces of the First Army (under Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer), Kenneth Anderson) from Operation Torch and the Eighth Army Tunisian Campaign, converged in Tunisia in February 1943, they were brought under the unified command of a newly formed 18th Army Group headquarters, commanded by Alexander and reporting to General (United States), General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean theatre at Allied Force Headquarters, Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ). The American General Omar Bradley, who fought in the Tunisian campaign, then commanding the II Corps (United States), U.S. II Corps, credited Alexander's patience and experience with helping an inexperienced United States "field command mature and eventually come of age."

The Axis powers, Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered by May 1943, with some 250,000 Axis troops surrendering, the largest surrender yet in the war. Alexander telegraphed Churchill in response, stating:

Sicily and Italy 1943−1945

With the campaign over, Alexander's command now became the 15th Army Group, which was, under General Eisenhower, responsible for mounting in July the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky), again seeing Alexander controlling two Field army, field armies, both commanded by strong-willed characters who were not easy to control: General Montgomery's British Eighth Army and Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General George S. Patton's Seventh United States Army, U.S. Seventh Army. The campaign did not portray Alexander at his best and he failed to grip his two commanders. Montgomery's Eighth Army found itself in a slogging match against typically skilful German opposition on the Plain of Catania, Catanian plain and on the slopes of Mount Etna. Patton, resentful of his belief that he and his Seventh Army had been given a secondary role in the campaign, confronted Alexander and successfully argued for his army to be able to drive to the northwest and capture Palermo. Although initially reluctant to allow Patton such a role he eventually, but reluctantly, allowed the Seventh Army commander to have his way, although Palermo did not appear to have much strategic significance. Despite this, it turned out to be the key to unlocking the Axis forces' defences and gave the Americans an easier route towards Messina. The brief campaign in Sicily had been largely successful but there were some, with Montgomery being among the loudest of the critics, who believed that the campaign lacked direction and blamed Alexander. Furthermore, although the Axis forces had been forced to withdraw from Sicily, they had managed to do so in relatively good order, crossing the Strait of Messina, Straits of Messina into Italy.

After Sicily, planning began for the Allied invasion of Italy, which began on 3 September 1943 (the fourth anniversary of Britain's entry into the war) with Montgomery's Eighth Army launching Operation Baytown, crossing over into Italy but facing little real opposition and slowly making its way up the Italian peninsula. Six days later the United States Army North, U.S. Fifth Army (which, despite its name, contained the X Corps (United Kingdom), British X Corps, under Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery, under its command) under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark landed at Salerno as part of Operation Avalanche, which, initially at least, started off well, before encountering heavy resistance and almost being thrown back into the sea. As in Sicily, Alexander did not exert as much control as he should have, although he supported McCreery when he refused to consider evacuation plans that Clark had been considering. He was also instrumental in convincing Clark to replace the VI Corps (United States), U.S. VI Corps commander, Major General Ernest J. Dawley, who had not performed well and who Alexander described as, "a broken reed", with Major General John P. Lucas. Despite the heavy casualties sustained at Salerno, the Allies managed to force the Germans back and, with both the Fifth and Eighth Armies now united at last, began pursuing the retreating Germans. By December 1943 progress had virtually ground to a halt as the Germans had Alexander's 15th Army Group held up at the Winter Line (also known as the Gustav Line) and ground was gained only at the expense of heavy casualties. At around this time there were numerous command changes, with Montgomery handing over the Eighth Army to Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese, Sir Oliver Leese and departing for the United Kingdom to take up command of the 21st Army Group, which controlled all Allied land forces for the upcoming Normandy landings, invasion of Normandy, whilst General Henry Maitland Wilson, Sir Henry Wilson replaced Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean.

The fighting in Italy was to continue to prove even more difficult over the next few months. Numerous Battle of Monte Cassino, attacks were repulsed at Monte Cassino (which was also bombed in February 1944, with Alexander taking responsibility for the decision to bomb it) and the Battle of Anzio, Anzio landings by Lucas's U.S. VI Corps began well but did not live up to expectations and eventually ended up in a stalemate, like the rest of the Italian fighting so far. Codenamed Operation Shingle, Alexander had a large part in the creation of the plan, and designed it with the intention of drawing German strength away from the Winter Line and cutting their Line of communication, lines of communication. It was supported by Prime Minister Churchill, who had very high expectations for Shingle. However, the operation was flawed in many ways. In particular, Alexander's plan, of seizing the Alban Hills, might possibly have led to the entire Allied force (comprising only two infantry divisions, elements of the 1st Armored Division (United States), U.S. 1st Armored Division, and other smaller units in support) being wiped out. Despite Churchill's and Alexander's intentions, the Allied forces did not achieve the somewhat unrealistic expectations, and were essentially cut off from any support, although they did manage to bring in German reserves from elsewhere, which might otherwise have been available for service on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front or the impending Allied invasion of Normandy.

When Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander for the planned Normandy landings he suggested that Alexander become ground forces commander, as he was popular with both British and American officers. Omar Bradley, who commanded U.S. II Corps in Sicily, and later the First United States Army, U.S. First Army and then the Twelfth United States Army Group, U.S. 12th Army Group, remarked that he would have preferred to work with Alexander, rather than Montgomery, as he regarded the former as "a restrained, self-effacive and punctilious soldier." Of the problems that subsequently surfaced with Montgomery's command of the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, Bradley suspected they would not have occurred with Alexander in command. Brooke, however, applied pressure to keep Alexander in Italy, considering him unfit for the assignment in France. Thus, Alexander remained in command of the 15th Army Group, and, with the support of numerous Allied commanders, controversially authorised the Battle of Monte Cassino, bombing of the historic abbey at Monte Cassino, which resulted in little advance on the German Winter Line defences, which had managed to halt the Allied advance in Italy. It was not until the fourth attempt that the Winter Line was breached by the Allies, and Alexander's forces moved on to capture Rome in June 1944, thereby achieving one of the strategic goals of the Italian campaign. However, the U.S. VI Corps, under Major General Lucian Truscott, in the Anzio beachhead, under U.S. Fifth Army commander Clark's orders, failed to follow their original break-out plan that would have trapped the 10th Army (Wehrmacht), German 10th Army escaping northwards in the aftermath of the Battle of Monte Cassino, instead favouring an early and highly publicised entry into Rome two days before the Allied landings in Normandy. Although Alexander was angry at Clark deliberately disobeying his specific orders in order to reach Rome first, he chose to say nothing, believing that it would do nothing for the Allied cause had he done so.

Alexander remained in command of the 15th Army Group, as well as its successor, the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI), for most of the Italian Campaign, until December 1944, when he relinquished his command to Clark and took over as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters, responsible for all military operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, Mediterranean theatre. Alexander was concurrently promoted to the rank of Field marshal (United Kingdom), field marshal, though this was backdated to the fall of Rome on 4 June 1944, so that Alexander would once again be senior to Montgomery, who had himself been made a field marshal on 1 September 1944, after the end of the Battle of Normandy. Alexander then received the German surrender in Italy, on 29 April 1945. Further, as a reward for his leadership in North Africa and Italy, Alexander, along with a number of other prominent British Second World War military leaders, was elevated to the peerage on 1 March 1946 by George VI, King George VI; he was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal in the County Donegal, County of Donegal.

Brooke felt that Alexander needed an able chief of staff "to think for him", while Montgomery (Alexander's subordinate in North Africa, Sicily and Italy) claimed to think of Alexander as "incompetent" and believed that success was attained in Tunisia only because Montgomery lent Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, the commander of IX Corps (United Kingdom), IX Corps of Anderson's First Army, to organise the coup de grace. However, Harold Macmillan was impressed by Alexander's calm and style, conducting dinners in his mess like those at an Oxbridge high table, discussing architecture and the campaigns of Belisarius, rather than the current war. Macmillan thought Alexander's urbane manner and willingness to discuss and compromise were a sensible way to maintain inter-Allied cooperation, but Alexander's reserve was such that some thought him empty of strategic ideas and unable to make decisions. Graham and Bidwell, however, wrote that Alexander's impenetrable reserve made it hard to judge whether or not he had any military ideas, but that he was "unable or unwilling" to assert his will over his army commanders, and that Mark Clark, who often referred to him scornfully as a "peanut" and a "feather duster", exploited this weakness.

Governor General of Canada

With the cessation of hostilities, Alexander was under serious consideration for appointment to the post of Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the British Army's most senior position beneath the sovereign. He was invited, though, by Prime Minister of Canada, Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to be his recommendation to the King for the post of Governor General of Canada. Alexander thus chose to retire from the army and take up the new position, in anticipation of which he was on 26 January 1946 appointed Order of St Michael and St George, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George and created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, of Errigal in the County of Donegal, on 1 March. On 21 March 1946, the commission under the royal sign-manual and Seal (device)#Signet rings, signet appointing Alexander was issued. Alexander was subsequently sworn in during a ceremony in the Senate of Canada, Senate chamber on 12 April that year.

Alexander took his duties as the viceroy quite seriously, feeling that as governor general, he acted as a connection between Canadians and their King, and spent considerable time traveling Canada during his term; he eventually logged no less than 294,500 km (184,000 mi) during his five years as governor general. On these trips, he sought to engage with Canadians through various ceremonies and events; he was keenly interested in his role as Scouts Canada#Organizational structure, Chief Scout of Canada and, in preparation for his kicking of the opening ball in the 1946 Grey Cup final, practised frequently on the grounds of the royal and viceregal residence, Rideau Hall. Also, in commemoration of Alexander being named the first non-aboriginal chief of the Kwakiutl tribe, he was given a totem pole on 13 July 1946; crafted by Mungo Martin, it remains on the grounds of Rideau Hall today. By the end of the year, Alexander was also distinguished with his induction as a Order of the Garter, Knight of the Order of the Garter.

In 1947, the King issued Letters Patent, 1947, letters patent granting his Canadian governor general permission to exercise all those powers belonging to the monarch in respect of Canada and, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference of 1949, the decision was reached to use the term 'member of the Commonwealth' instead of 'Dominion' to refer to the non-British member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. That same year, Alexander oversaw the admission of the Dominion of Newfoundland, Newfoundland (a dominion by name but not self-governing) into the Canadian Confederation and toured the new province that summer. Then, during a later visit to Alberta, the Governor General was admitted to the Blackfoot tribe as Chief Eagle Head. However, though the post-war period saw a boom in prosperity for Canada, the country was again at war by 1950, with Alexander, in his role as acting Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, commander-in-chief, deploying to the Korean War soldiers, sailors, and airmen, whom he would visit prior to their departure for north-east Asia.

The Viscount travelled abroad on official trips—in 1947 visiting President of the United States, US president Harry S. Truman and in June 1948 President of Brazil, Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra—as well as hosting a number of dignitaries. The visit of the Irish Taoiseach, John A. Costello, in 1948 caused Alexander some embarrassment when Costello chose the occasion to announce that most of Ireland would leave the Commonwealth (Northern Ireland would remain a constituent part of the United Kingdom). Although the decision had been taken in principle earlier, the sudden announcement caused a diplomatic storm and Costello, to deflect criticism, claimed that he had been provoked into making the announcement by a series of diplomatic snubs by Lord Alexander. In his memoirs, Costello was to admit that Alexander's behaviour had in fact been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made to declare the Republic of Ireland.

The Alexanders' relatively informal lifestyle at Rideau Hall was demonstrated when during the Canadian tour of Elizabeth II, Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Viscount and Viscountess hosted a square dance in the palace's ballroom. Alexander painted (creating a personal studio in the former dairy at Rideau Hall and mounting classes in art at the National Gallery of Canada), partook in a number of sports (including golf, ice hockey, and rugby football, rugby), and enjoyed the outdoors, particularly during Ontario and Quebec's maple syrup harvest, himself overseeing the process on Rideau Hall's grounds. The Viscount was known to escape from official duties to partake in his most favourite pastime of fishing, once departing from the 1951 royal tour of Princess Elizabeth to take in a day's fishing at Griffin Island, in Georgian Bay, and granting a day off for students in the town of Drayton, Ontario, where his train briefly stopped. He presented the Alexander Cup to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in November 1950; the cup became the championship trophy of the Major Series of senior ice hockey.

Among Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment. He not only had a much praised military reputation (he was considered to be the best military strategist since Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the 1st Duke of Wellington) but also was a charismatic figure, with an easy ability to communicate with people. Others, however, did not fully approve of Alexander; editor Hugh Templin, from Fergus, Ontario, met with Alexander during Templin's time as a special correspondent with the Canadian Press during the Second World War, and he said of the encounter: "Lord Alexander impressed us considerably, if not too favourably. He was an aristocratic type, who didn't like newspaper men."

British Minister of Defence

Lord Alexander gave up the office of Governor General of Canada officially on 28 January 1952 after Churchill asked him to return to London to take the post of Minister of Defence (UK), Minister of Defence in the British government. The aging Churchill had found it increasingly difficult to cope with holding that portfolio concurrently with that of prime minister, although he still took many major decisions himself, leaving Alexander with little real power. George VI died on the night of 5–6 February and Alexander, in respect of the King's mourning, departed quietly for the United Kingdom, leaving Chief Justice of Canada Thibaudeau Rinfret as Administrator of the Government#Canada, administrator of the government in his place. After his return to the UK, Alexander was on 14 March 1952 elevated in the peerage by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming Earl Alexander of Tunis, Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg. He was also appointed to the organising committee for Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen's coronation and was charged with carrying the Sovereign's Orb in the state procession on that occasion in 1953.

Retirement

The Earl served as the British defence minister until 1954, when he retired from politics. In 1959 the Queen appointed Alexander to the Order of Merit. From 1960 to 1965, he served as Constable of the Tower of London. Alexander was an active freemason.

Canada remained a favourite second home for the Alexanders and they returned frequently to visit family and friends until Alexander died on 16 June 1969 of a perforated aorta. His funeral was held on 24 June 1969, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, and his remains are buried in the churchyard of Ridge, Hertfordshire, Ridge, near Tyttenhanger, his family's Hertfordshire home.

Marriage and children

Alexander married Margaret Alexander, Countess Alexander of Tunis, Lady Margaret Bingham, daughter of George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan, on 14 October 1931. They had three children together and adopted a fourth:

* Lady Rose Maureen Alexander (born 28 October 1932, died 21 August 2017)
* Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis, Shane William Desmond Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis (born 30 June 1935)
* The Honourable, Hon. Brian James Alexander, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (born 31 July 1939)
* Lady Susan Mary Alexander (born 26 February 1948) (adopted)

Honours

Appointments
*7 February 1936 – 16 June 1969: Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)
* 1938 – 1 January 1942: Order of the Bath, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)
** 1 January 1942 – 11 November 1942: Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB)
** 11 November 1942 – 16 June 1969: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB)
* 1 January 1946 – 16 June 1969: Venerable Order of Saint John, Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
* 16 September 1946 – 28 January 1952: Knight of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer in Canada of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
* 20 January 1946 – 25 March 1960: Order of St Michael and St George, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)
** 25 March 1960 – 12 October 1967: Grand Master of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
** 12 October 1967 – 16 June 1969: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)
* 12 April 1946 – 28 January 1952: Scouts Canada#Organizational structure, Chief Scout of Canada
* 13 July 1946 – 16 June 1969: Kwakiutl, Honorary Chief of the Kwakiutl Tribe
* 3 December 1946 – 16 June 1969: Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
* 1950 – 16 June 1969: Blackfoot, Chief of the Blackfoot Tribe
* 29 January 1952 – 16 June 1969: Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Member of the King's Privy Council for Canada (PC (Can))
* 17 May 1957 – 1 April 1965: Lord Lieutenant of the County of London
* 1 April 1965 – 28 December 1966: Lord Lieutenant of Greater London
* 1960–1965: Constable of the Tower, Constable of the Tower of London
* 1 January 1959 – 16 June 1969: Order of Merit, Member of the Order of Merit (OM)

Decorations
* 14 January 1916: Military Cross (MC)
* 20 October 1916: Distinguished Service Order, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
* 7 June 1951: Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)

Medals
* 1919: 1914 Star with clasp
* 1919: British War Medal
* 1919: Victory Medal (United Kingdom), Victory Medal
* 1935: King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
* 1935: India General Service Medal (1909)
* 1937: King George VI Coronation Medal
* 1945: 1939–45 Star
* 1945: Burma Star
* 1945: Africa Star
* 1945: Italy Star
* 1945: War Medal 1939–1945
* 1953: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

Awards
* 4 January 1917: Mentioned in Despatches
* 27 December 1918: Mentioned in Despatches
* 8 July 1919: Mentioned in Despatches
* 3 February 1920: Mentioned in Despatches
* 7 February 1936: Mentioned in Despatches
* 8 May 1936: Mentioned in Despatches
* 20 December 1940: Mentioned in Despatches
* 28 October 1942: Mentioned in Despatches
* 1945 Freedom of the City, Freedom of the City of Manchester
* 25 March 1946 Freedom of the City, Freedom of the City of London
* Freedom of the City, Freedom of the City of Edinburgh

Foreign honours and decorations

* 20 October 1916: Légion d'honneur, Knight of the ''Légion d'honneur''
* : Order of St. Anna, Member Second Class with Swords of the Order of St. Anna
* 10 August 1943: Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit
* 29 February 1944: Order of Suvorov, Member First Class of the Order of Suvorov
* 20 June 1944: Order of George I, Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of George I
* 5 December 1944: Virtuti Militari, Member Fifth Class of the Order Virtuti Militari
* 2 August 1945: Distinguished Service Medal (US Army), Distinguished Service Medal

Honorary military appointments

* 7 March 1936 – 19 November 1937: Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty the King (ADC)
* 2 July 1937 – 14 August 1947: Colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment
* 20 July 1944 – 2 August 1946: Aide-de-Camp General to His Majesty the King (ADC General)
* 28 August 1946 – 16 June 1969: Colonel of the Irish Guards
* 10 November 1949 – n/a: Colonel of the Royal Ulster Rifles (London Irish Rifles)
* 10 July 1951 – n/a: Colonel of the Oxford University Contingent of the University Training Corps

Honorary degrees

* 22 May 1946: McGill University, Quebec Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 1946: Queen's University at Kingston, Queen's University, Ontario Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 1946: University of Toronto, Ontario Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 13 May 1948: University of British Columbia, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 21 March 1949: University of California Los Angeles, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 22 October 1949: University of Western Ontario, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 1953: University of Liverpool, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
* 1955: University of Nottingham, Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Unofficial

Alberta
* ''Chief Eagle Head''

Honorific eponyms

Geographic locations
* : Viscount Alexander Park, Ottawa

Schools
* : Viscount Alexander Public School, Ottawa
* : École Viscount Alexander, Winnipeg

Arms

List of works

*
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See also

* Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

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Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Harold Alexander

The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Harold Alexander
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Tunis, Harold Alexander, 1st Earl
1891 births
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Air raid on Bari
Alexander family (British aristocracy), Harold
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