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 Wyndham Green (15 May 1887 – 12 November 1979) was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief,

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

Military career

Educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, Green 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 ...

in 1907.Sir William Wyndham Green
Liddell Hart Centre for Military ArchivesSmart, p. 129 He served in

World War I 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 ...

latterly as a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. 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 ...

for correcting gunfire from the top of a haystack 200 yards from the enemy front line in December 1914, and a bar to the MC, the citation for which reads: He also received 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 ...

at Ploegsteert in April the following year.Smart, p. 130 The DSO's citation reads: After attending the

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 ...

, from 1919 to 1920, in 1926 he became an instructor in Gunnery at the School of Artillery. In 1929 he went to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and served on the North West Frontier, before returning to the School of Artillery in 1937 as Chief Instructor for Equipment. In 1938 he was appointed Commandant at the

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...

. He served in

World War II 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 ...

initially as Brigadier Royal Artillery at Northern Command and then, from March 1941 to October 1941, as Second in Command City and Garrison of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. In 1942 he became Commander of

3rd Anti-Aircraft Division The 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division was an air defence formation of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, created in the period of tension before the outbreak of the Second World War. It defended Scotland and Northern Ireland during the ear ...

and in 1943 he was made Commander of 5th and 6th Anti-Aircraft Groups.Robert Palmer, ''A Concise History of Anti-Aircraft Command (History and Personnel)'' at British Military History.
/ref> After the War he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

; he retired in 1946. He was also a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1947 to 1952. The family home was at Little Gables in

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for the county in 1949.

Family

In January 1916 he married Madge Alexandra Bellairs and had one daughter, then in 1924 he married Aline Hope Primrose Cobbold and they went on to have one son and a daughter.

Bibliography

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, William Wyndham 1887 births 1979 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Anti-Aircraft Command officers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Artillery officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Deputy Lieutenants of Kent People educated at Malvern College British Army lieutenant generals People from South Kensington Military personnel from London