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 William Gregory Huddleston Pike (24 June 1905 − 10 March 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 who served as Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1960 to 1963.

Military career

Pike entered Bedford School in 1914, and was further educated at Marlborough College. Grave of Sir William Gregory Huddleston Pike

After graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Pike was commissioned 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 28 January 1925.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served with the British Indian Army until 1936 and 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 ...

taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation and commanding the 77th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery during the landings in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in March 1943. On 11 March 1944, Pike 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. I ...

and appointed to command 59th Army Group Royal Artillery, a headquarters that was about to embark for the Far East. On arrival at the Ranchi training area, 59 AGRA and the artillery regiments placed under Pike's command prepared for an amphibious assault on the coast of Malaya, which was called off after the Surrender of Japan. Pike later served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

as Divisional Commander, Royal Artillery for

1st Commonwealth Division The 1st Commonwealth Division was the military unit that commanded Commonwealth land forces in the Korean War. The division was a part of the multinational British Commonwealth Forces Korea, with infantry units of the British Army, Canadian ...

. He was appointed Director of Staff Duties 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 1954 - a post he held during the Suez Crisis, Chief of Staff for

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ( ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded ...

in 1957 and Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1960 before retiring in 1963. He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1962 to 1970.

Family

He married Josephine 'Josie' Tompson; their son is Lieutenant General Sir

Hew Pike Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Hew William Royston Pike (born 24 April 1943) is a retired senior British Army officer known for his service in the Falklands War and for his command in Northern Ireland. Education an ...

. His brother was Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir

Thomas Pike Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike, (29 June 1906 – 1 June 1983) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War as a night fighter squadron commander and then as a station commander. He was ...

References

External links

Generals of World War IIImperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, William 1905 births 1993 deaths Burials in Hampshire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People educated at Bedford School People educated at Marlborough College British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Artillery officers People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire People from Alton, Hampshire British Army personnel of the Korean War British military personnel of the Suez Crisis British Army brigadiers of World War II Military personnel from Yorkshire