Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Sir William Bertram Swan (19 September 1914 – 4 December 1990) 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 and agriculturalist.

Early life

Swan was eldest son of Nichol Allan Swan and Anne Gardener Keir. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

and entered farming in 1933.

Military career

On 13 May 1939 he was commissioned into the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

of the Territorial Army. He served with the 4th Battalion of the regiment in 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 ...

. Between 1942 and 1945 Swan was seconded to the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

and served with the No. 1 Mule Training Regiment in Jullundu. Following the end of the Second World War, Swan returned to farming in Scotland. He served as

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...

County Commandant for Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk from 1955 to 1973 and was granted the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was a colonel in the Lowlands Territorial Army from 1983 to 1986.

Agriculture

Swan was President of the

National Farmers Union of Scotland The National Farmers' Union of Scotland is an organisation that promotes and protects the interests of the country's farming industry. It was formed in 1913, and has approximately 10,000 members who are farmers, crofters and others involved in Sc ...

from 1961 to 1962 and was President of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society from 1966 to 1968. He was a member of the Development Commission from 1964 to 1976.

Honours and awards

Swan was invested as a

Commander 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 ...

in June 1968, having served as a Deputy Lieutenant in 1965. From 1969 to 1989 he was

Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire This is a list of people who have served as His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for the County of Berwick. List of officeholders * Alexander, Earl of Home 17 March 1794 – 20 October 1841 * James, Earl of Lauderdale 2 November 1841 – 22 August 186 ...

and was invested as a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in June 1988. He was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

for long service in the Territorial Army.'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' i
''British Army Officers 1939–1945''
at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, William 1914 births 1990 deaths Scottish agriculturalists British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century British farmers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Berwickshire King's Own Scottish Borderers officers Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Berwickshire People educated at Edinburgh Academy