Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Ronald Henry Senior, (3 July 1904 – 2 March 1988) 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 with distinction in various campaigns throughout 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 ...

Military career

Ronald Henry Senior was born in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, on 3 July 1904. He was the son Lawrence Henry Senior and his wife, Emmadonna Shuttleworth Holden. He received his initial education at

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

and was commissioned into a Territorial Army (TA) unit, the 24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's) of the

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

, in April 1924. Senior was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in December 1934. In the late 1930s the London Regiment was disbanded and Senior's battalion became the 7th (Southwark) Battalion of the

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

and, in early 1938, he was made the

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

of the battalion. In 1939, the TA was ordered to be doubled in size, due to the possibility of another war with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and Senior's battalion was split in two due to the number of new recruits joining up, his being designated the 1/7th and the new battalion the 2/7th. The

broke out in September 1939. Ronald Henry Senior, 151st Brigade

In April 1940 Senior, who was by now

officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

D Company, was sent to France with his battalion to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). As part of the

131st Infantry Brigade The 131st Infantry Brigade, originally the Surrey Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Territorial Army that saw service during both the First and the Second World Wars. In the First World War the brigade was in British India for most ...

of the

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. ...

, the battalion was not to stay in France long as the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

began just a few weeks later, which resulted in the BEF being almost surrounded by the superior German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

forces and the BEF having to retreat to the port of Dunkirk, from where they were evacuated to England. For his services during the relatively brief campaign in France and Belgium, Senior was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) and was later

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. Senior was later to command the 5th Battalion of the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

from May–October 1942, seeing action at the Battle of Alam el Halfa, before returning to the 1/7th Battalion of the Queen's, this time in command, during the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. He led the battalion, which by now was part of the 7th Armoured Division, throughout the final stages of the Western Desert campaign and 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. The ...

, until early 1943 when he was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and assumed command of the

50th Division 50th Division or 50th Infantry Division may refer to: Infantry divisions: * 50th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China) * 50th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 50th Reserve Division (German Empire) * 50th Infantry Division Regina ...

's 151st Infantry Brigade from Brigadier

Daniel Beak Major General Daniel Marcus William Beak, (27 Jan 1891 – 3 May 1967) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commo ...

. The brigade had also seen service in Africa and soon fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily from July–August 1943, and was eventually returned to the United Kingdom towards the end of 1943. Senior and his brigade next fought in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and the subsequent battle of Normandy which followed. Senior was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

soon after, however, and he spent the next few months recovering from his injuries before taking command of the 49th Division's 56th Infantry Brigade in late January 1945. One of his three battalion commanders was

Robert Bray Robert E. Bray (October 23, 1917 – March 7, 1983) was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series '' Lassie'', He also starred in ''Stagecoach West'' and as Mike Hammer in the mo ...

, who would become a four star general. Senior was to lead the 56th during the rest of the war, most notably during the

liberation of Arnhem Operation Anger (sometimes known as Operation Quick Anger), was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is also known as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of ...

in April. The

end of World War II in Europe The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...

followed soon afterward.

References

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945Brigadier R. H. Senior
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senior, Ronald 1904 births 1988 deaths British Army brigadiers of World War II Queen's Royal Regiment officers People educated at Cheltenham College Companions of the Distinguished Service Order London Regiment officers Military personnel from Chelsea, London