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 (Edwin) Otway Herbert KBE CB DSO (19 November 19014 April 1984) 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 served 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 ...

and achieved high command in the 1950s.

Military career

Herbert attended 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 ...

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

on 22 December 1921. He served in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

between 1928 and 1935. Returning to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, he became

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

for the 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Group in 1935. He served in the

(1939–1945) initially as deputy assistant adjutant-general for 27 Anti-Aircraft Group, then deployed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). On 1 March 1942 he took over as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

(CO) of the 6th Battalion,

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

with the task of converting it into the 181st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. In August 1942 he joined the 132nd (Welsh) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, which formed part of the 78th "Battleaxe" Infantry Division and commanded it in the

Tunisian campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

. In 1943 he joined the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

in England and later in

Northwest Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

. After the war he became Commander Royal Artillery for 5th Division moving on to be Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1947. He became Director Territorial Army (TA) and

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

s 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 1949 and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division in 1952. He was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C)

West Africa Command West Africa Command was a Command of the British Army. Conflicting information indicates that the command was either based at Achimota College in Accra or in Nigeria. It was disbanded in 1956. History After the First World War, military forces in ...

from 1953 earning the distinction of being the last soldier to hold this command. He was GOC-in-C Western Command from 1957 and retired from the British Army in 1960. He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1956 to 1966. He lived at Brynsiencyn in

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

Family

In 1925 he married Muriel Irlam Barlow and together they went on to have a daughter.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

References

Bibliography

*Don Neal, ''Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946'', Studley: Brewin, 2001, .

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Otway 1901 births 1984 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army brigadiers of World War II Commanders of the Order of Leopold II Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley High Sheriffs of Anglesey Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Legion of Merit People educated at Felsted School Royal Artillery officers