Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes (20 August 1892 – 16 January 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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who fought with distinction 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 ...

. He later served 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 ...

, where he commanded the

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (Ea ...

during the Battle of France in May/June 1940.

Early life and First World War

Holmes was educated at Gresham's School, Holt,''Speech Days: A New Tradition at Gresham's'' in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

, Monday, 27 June 1938, page 20 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 ...

. Upon graduating from Sandhurst, Holmes was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Welsh Fusiliers on 11 October 1911. He served with his regiment, mainly the 1st Battalion, throughout the

, during which he was mentioned in despatches four times and received the DSO and bar, and the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

, commanding his regiment's 1st Battalion on the Italian Front from 1917 to 1918.''Who's Who 1969'' (A. & C. Black, London, 1969) He received rapid promotion during the war, being promoted to captain in December 1914, temporary major in May 1916, and ending as an acting

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 colo ...

, to which he was promoted on 10 December 1918, making him, at the age of just 26, one of the youngest of his rank in the British Army.

Between the wars

In 1921 he served 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 later returned to the United Kingdom and became adjutant of the 6th Battalion, RWF, a Territorial Army (TA) formation serving as part of the 158th Brigade of the

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

, from 12 March 1923. He relinquished the appointment on 12 September upon transferring to the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

. He attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1928 to 1929, alongside fellow students like

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperi ...

, John Harding,

Richard McCreery General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery, (1 February 1898 – 18 October 1967) was a career soldier of the British Army, who was decorated for leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War. During the Second World War, he was chief ...

and Alexander Galloway. In 1933 Holmes became CO of the 2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. Promoted to

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 o ...

the same year, he was given a general staff position in the Northern Command in 1934 and, promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier on 1 October 1935, was given command of the 8th Infantry Brigade, part of the 3rd Infantry Division. On 14 June 1937, at the age of 44, Holmes became the British Army's youngest

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 after spending a period on half-pay, on 1 March 1938 got his first divisional command, the

, a TA formation.

Second World War

Holmes commanded the 42nd Division in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1940 with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Following the fall of France and the retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk, Holmes was promoted to lieutenant-general and given command of the newly formed X Corps, commanding it in Syria and

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 ...

in June 1940.Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes
at generals.dk (accessed 21 August 2007) In November 1941 Holmes became General Officer Commanding the British Troops in Egypt, in addition to his responsibilities as commander of X Corps. In August 1942 he became General-Director of Transportation 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 ...

. Holmes's last command was the Ninth Army, based in Palestine and Transjordan, a command he held from September 1942 until his retirement in 1945.

Honours

*1917:

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, ty ...

*1918:

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) *1938: Companion of the Order of the Bath *1944: Order of the Phoenix, Class II (

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

) *1944: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire *1945:

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

, Class II (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

)

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, William 1892 births 1969 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath East Lancashire Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Grand Commanders of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from London People educated at Gresham's School People from Westminster Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Royal Welch Fusiliers officers War Office personnel in World War II