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 ...

Sir Eustace John Blois Nelson KCVO CB DSO OBE MC (15 June 1912 – 23 December 1993) was a senior

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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who commanded the 3rd Battalion,

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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 ...

and later served as Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.

Military career

Nelson was born in Hertfordshire, the son of barrister Roland Nelson and Hyla Letitia Grace, sixth daughter of Sir John Ralph Blois, 8th Baronet. He was educated at

West Downs School West Downs School, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school, which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988. History Founding The school was founded by Lionel Helbert (1870–1919), with help from h ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, Nelson entered the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1933.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in the

, latterly as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards during the Italian Campaign. After the war he became CO of the 1st Guards Parachute Battalion in Palestine, before transferring 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 ...

as a General Staff Officer (GSO) in 1948. He was CO of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards in Tripoli from 1950 until 1952, when he became a GSO at London District. In 1954 he joined the British military staff 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, ...

and in 1959 he commanded the 4th Guards Brigade Group in Germany. He was made Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding (GOC) London District in 1962 and Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1966. He retired from the British Army in 1968. Following his death in 1993, a memorial service was held at

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards battalions on public duties in that area. The building is located about three hundred yards from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Family

He married Lady Margaret Jane Fitzroy, granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Grafton, who was granted the rank of a duke's daughter in 1936. In 1999, their elder daughter, Jennifer Forwood, received the title of Baroness Arlington, which had been

abeyant Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vesting, vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the tru ...

since the death of Nelson's brother-in-law the 9th Duke of Grafton in 1936. Their second daughter, Juliet Auriol Sally Nelson, married Captain Sir Montague John Cholmeley, 6th Bt.

Military career

Family

References

Further reading