General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir William Norman Roy Scotter, (9 February 1922 – 5 February 1981) 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 commander-in-chief,

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

from September 1978 until October 1980.

Early life and education

William (Bill) Scotter was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, Wirral on 9 February 1922, the son of Claude Norman Scotter (born

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

, Cumbria in 1889, died 1978 in Hampshire) and Hilda Marie Scotter ( Turner; 1892–1948). He had two brothers and one sister. Scotter was the grandson of Canon William Henry Scotter, one time vicar at Ulverston and his wife Emma Gordon Dill. He was also the great-nephew of Sir Charles Scotter, chairman and managing director of the London and South Western Railway. Scotter was educated at St. Bees School, Cumberland.

Military career

Second World War

In June 1941 Scotter enlisted in the

and served in ranks of the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> By 1942 he had attained the rank of

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

. After attending the Indian Military Academy,

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

, he was emergency commissioned into the

7th Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History F ...

, Indian Army on 26 November 1942. He served with the 7th Gurkha Rifles in India from 1943 until 1944, first as temporary captain, then as

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 sub ...

. He later served in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

from 1944 until 1945. It was for his actions in Burma on the night of 28 February 1945 at Meiktila as a company commander, where he was wounded, that 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 i ...

, serving as a temporary major with 1st battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles.

Rise to senior command

Having returned to England, Scotter was transferred from the Indian Army to the 2nd Battalion

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

in 1945, as a Regular officer. After service in Malaya with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles from 1948 to 1951, and graduating from

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion

King's Own Royal Border Regiment The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1959 until 2006, and was part of the King's Division. It was formed at Barnard Castle on 1 October 1959 through the amalgamation of the King's Ow ...

. By July 1967 he had been 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 been appointed commander of 19th Infantry Brigade. In 1965 was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, and in 1970 he was promoted to

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 a ...

and appointed Chief of Staff Headquarters Southern Command. In 1972 he became Chief of Staff at Headquarters UK Land Forces. By this time he was also

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

. Later in 1972 he became director of military operations at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Scotter was appointed 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 of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1975, and promoted to Vice Chief of the General Staff at the

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

in the rank of lieutenant general. In 1976 he became colonel commandant of the

Army Physical Training Corps The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education and has been headquartered in Aldershot since its foundation in 1860. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Trainin ...

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

. From September 1978 was promoted to general, as commander-in-chief,

, a role he held until October 1980, when he was replaced by General Sir Michael Gow.

Death and memorials

Scotter was appointed to become

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

(DSACEUR) in April 1981. But he died on 5 February before he had the opportunity to take up this appointment. He was buried at

Aldershot Military Cemetery Aldershot Military Cemetery is a burial ground for military personnel, or ex-military personnel and their families, located in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire. The cemetery was created in 1850s by the Royal Engineers during the building of A ...

with full military honours. A plaque to Scotter's memory is displayed in the Kings Own Border Regiment Chapel in

Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral is a grade-I listed Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Carlisle.Tim Tatton-Brown and John ...

. His uniform and medals are displayed i
Cumbria's Museum of Military Life
in

Carlisle Castle Carlisle Castle is a medieval stone keep castle that stands within the English city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1093 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over ...

References

External links

Scotter family site
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Scotter, William 1922 births 1981 deaths Scots Guards soldiers King's Own Royal Border Regiment officers Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Military personnel from Merseyside British Army generals Burials at Aldershot Military Cemetery Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at St Bees School Military personnel from Birkenhead British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army personnel of World War II Indian Army personnel of World War II British expatriates in Germany British people in colonial India