General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Richard Edward Worsley (29 May 1923 – 23 February 2013) 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 fought in 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 commanded 1st (British) Corps.

Early life

Worsley was born on 29 May 1923 at Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland, the son of Herbert Henry Knight Worsley, JP (1885–1947) of Lough House, Grey Abbey, County Down, by Rose Austen (died 30 April 1958), only daughter of John Alfred Hives of Upper Plain, Masterton, New Zealand, farmer, and widow of Major Meyrick Myler Magrath, DSO, Royal Field Artillery, of Dorking House, Cosham, Hampshire. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

. His uncles were the first-class cricket batsmen A. E. Worsley and C. E. A. Worsley, who both played for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Military career

During the

Worsley was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...

in 1942. He served in the Middle East and Italy. After the war he then served in the Malayan Emergency in 1948.Debrett's People of Today 1974 He became an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst later in 1948 and then became Commanding Officer (CO) of the

1st The Royal Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgam ...

in 1962. He took command of the

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

in 1965 and Chief of Staff Far East Land Forces in 1969. He became General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Division in 1972 and GOC 1st (British) Corps in 1976. His final appointment was as

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

in 1979; he retired in 1982. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1964 New Year Honours and a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in the

1976 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 4 June 1976 for ...

. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. He lived at

Goring Heath Goring Heath is a hamlet and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. The civil parish includes the villages of Whitchurch Hill and Crays Pond and some small hamlets. Goring Heath is centred southeast of Goring-on-Thames and ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

and died on 23 February 2013.

Personal life

He married on 6 May 1959 at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton,

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 ...

, to Sarah Anne "Sally", eldest daughter of Brigadier J. A. H. Mitchell of the British Embassy,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and they went on to have a son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, and a daughter, Charlotte. On 7 Nov 1980, he married Caroline Carnegie, Duchess of Fife.''The Times'' 8 Nov 1980, p. 16

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Richard 1923 births 2013 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British Army personnel of World War II Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Radley College 1st The Royal Dragoons officers Rifle Brigade officers Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst