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 ...

William Havelock Chaplin Ramsden, (3 October 1888 – 16 December 1969) 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, who is most notable for commanding the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division 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 ...

Early life and First World War

Born in Chester, Cheshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on 3 October 1888, the son of Reverend Henry Plumptre Ramsden and Ethel Frances Alice Havelock, William Ramsden was educated at

Bath College Bath College is a Further Education college in the centre of Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2 ...

and 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

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

on 5 October 1910. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 2 October 1912, Ramsden served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, initially in the

Cameroons British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of N ...

and in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

with his regiment and then, from 19 March 1916, as a captain in the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

. He served with the regiment on the Western Front, in France and Belgium, where he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) while attached to the 35th Battalion of the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

(MGC), and was promoted to the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

of major on 16 February 1918. On 22 January 1918 he married Christine Adelaide Baldwin, daughter of James Yescombe Baldwin.

Between the wars

Between the wars Ramsden remained in the British Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel by 1933, and securing command of the 1st Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

in 1936. He was on active service on operations in

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

and Palestine during this period and was mentioned in despatches. He went on to be Commander of the West Lancashire Area in 1939.

Second World War

Ramsden fought in the

, commanding the 25th Infantry Brigade during the fighting in France in May 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Mentioned in despatches for his services, on 12 December 1940 he was promoted to the acting rank of major general and was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division in succession to Giffard Martel. The division, which left England in mid-1941, fought well in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

the following year. He was promoted to command XXX Corps in July 1942, which post he held until September 1942. Returning to England, he was given Bernard Montgomery's old command, the 3rd Infantry Division, in December 1942, holding this post until December 1943 when succeeded by

Tom Rennie Major-General Thomas Gordon Rennie CB DSO MBE (3 January 1900 – 24 March 1945) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. He was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd Infantry Division during the ...

. From early 1944 he was dispatched to the Sudan and became Commandant, Sudan Defence Force, later commanding British Troops in Sudan and Eritrea. He retired from the army in 1945.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Generals of World War II
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsden, William 1888 births 1969 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire East Yorkshire Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Bath College (English public school) People from Chester British Army major generals West India Regiment officers Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Hampshire Regiment officers Sudan Defence Force officers Military personnel from Chester