General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir William Platt (14 June 1885 – 28 September 1975) was a senior

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 ...

of the

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 ...

during both

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 ...

and

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 opposing ...

Early years

Platt was educated at Marlborough College 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 ...

. On graduating from the latter, Platt was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

in August 1905. From 1908 to 1914 he served on the North-West Frontier in

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 ...

where he won 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, ty ...

(DSO) and was mentioned in despatches for the first of six such citations. Platt was promoted to

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 ...

in June 1909 and captain in November 1914.

First World War

From 1914 to 1918, Platt fought in France and Belgium on the Western Front during 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 ...

. Between 1915 and 1916, he was appointed

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 dire ...

of the

103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade The Tyneside Irish Brigade was a British First World War infantry brigade of Kitchener's Army, raised in 1914. Officially numbered the 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle upon Tyne, largely made up of m ...

, a Kitchener's Army formation, and was promoted brevet major in December 1916. Between 1916 and 1917, Platt was a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) of the 21st Division, another Kitchener's Army formation. In 1917, he was made a GSO2 of II Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in France. This corps was later reformed as the British XXII Corps. In 1918 he was appointed GSO1 in the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel.

Between the wars

After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1919 to 1920, Platt was GSO1 of the 37th Division. In 1920 he once more became a brigade major, this time of the 12th Brigade, Eastern Command and then until 1922 Galway Brigade, Irish Command, after which he returned to regimental duties. Platt's permanent rank was advanced to major in January 1924, simultaneous with the award of brevet lieutenant colonel status. In March 1924 Platt once again received an appointment as brigade major, this time for two years in Egypt. In late 1927 Platt returned to the War Office in London, taking the post of Deputy Assistant Adjutant General on the Adjutant-General's staff. His promotion to substantive lieutenant colonel rank came in 1930 simultaneous with his transfer to the

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

to command its 2nd Battalion. On completion of this tour of duty in January 1933 Platt was promoted full colonel, and appointed as the GSO1 of the 3rd Division,

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

. In October 1934 Platt was given command of 7th Infantry Brigade in the rank of temporary brigadier. From 1937 to 1938, he was aide-de-camp to the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and in late 1938 Platt was promoted to major general to take up the appointment as Commandant of the Sudan Defence Force. In this role he carried the Arabic title of ''al-qa'id al-'amm'' ("the Leader of the Army") and was often referred to simply as "the Kaid". He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1939.

Second World War

As a result of the threat from Italian forces in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the S ...

, Platt's modest forces in Sudan were reinforced in late 1940 and early 1941, primarily by the arrival of the Indian 4th Infantry Division and the

Indian 5th Infantry Division The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three differ ...

. In recognition of his larger corps-sized command he was promoted acting lieutenant general in January 1941. He commanded the forces invading Italian East Africa from Sudan during the East African Campaign. After re-taking the abandoned Kassala railway junction in Sudan on 18 January 1941, Platt advanced into Eritrea and captured Agordat on 28 January. He next faced strong Italian resistance at Keren. From 3 March to 1 April, Platt's leadership played a large part in the successful outcome of the

Battle of Keren The Battle of Keren ( it, Battaglia di Cheren) took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941. Keren was attacked by the British during the East African Campaign of the Second World War. A force of Italian regular and colonial troops defended th ...

. The Eritrean capital, Asmara, was taken by the

on 1 April while Keren was still being mopped up by the Indian 4th Infantry Division. After the battle of Keren, Platt lost the Indian 4th Infantry Division which returned to Egypt. On 8 April, the port city of Massawa surrendered. The forces still under Platt then marched on

Amba Alagi Imba Alaje is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Imba Alaje dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Emba ...

. Platt's forces, advancing from the Sudan, met the forces of Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, advancing from Kenya, at Amba Alagi. A large Italian force under Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, was dug in at Amba Alagi in what it considered impregnable positions. The Battle of Amba Alagi started on 3 May. On 18 May, the Duke of Aosta surrendered his embattled force and the campaign in East Africa was all but over. From 1941 to 1945, Platt was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the

East Africa Command East Africa Command was a Command of the British Army. Until 1947 it was under the direct control of the Army Council and thereafter it became the responsibility of Middle East Command. It was disbanded on 11 December 1963, the day before Kenya bec ...

, which although no longer a theatre of war was an important source of manpower. Platt raised seventeen new battalions of the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

. From 1942 to 1954, Platt was the honorary colonel of the

. His lieutenant general rank was made permanent in May 1941 and he was promoted to general in January 1943. He retired from the army in April 1945.

Honours and awards

In addition to his British honours, Platt also received the Egyptian

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

(1st Class) in 1942, the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Star of Ethiopia The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was established as an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire, founded by the Negus of Shoa and later Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II in 1884–1885. It is currently awarded as a house order by the Crown Cou ...

in 1945, and the French

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1945.

Aftermath

After his retirement from the army Platt joined his family's business, Mather & Platt, where he served as a director until 1957.

Army career summary

* Commissioned officer,

– 1905 to 1914 * Captain,

– 1914 to 1915 * Brigade-Major, 103rd Infantry Brigade – 1915 to 1916 * General Staff Officer, Grade 2, of the 21st Division – 1916 to 1917 * General Staff Officer, Grade 2, of the 2nd Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – 1917 to 1918 * General Staff Officer, Grade 1, of the 37th Division – 1918 to 1920 * Brigade-Major, 12 Infantry Brigade, 1st Eastern Command and Galway Brigade, Irish Command – 1920 to 1922 * Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion

– 1930 to 1933 * General Staff Officer 1, 3rd Division – 1933 to 1934 * Commanding Officer 7th Brigade – 1934 to 1938 * General Officer Commanding, British Troops in Sudan – 1938 to 1941 * General Officer Commanding, Sudan Defence Force – 1938 to 1941 * General Officer Commanding, Northern Front, Eritrea and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

– 1941 * Commander in Chief, East Africa Command – 1941 to 1945

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945General Sir William PLATT
– Biographies at www.BritishMilitaryHistory.co.uk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, William 1885 births 1975 deaths British Army generals People educated at Marlborough College British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Wiltshire Regiment officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Sudan Defence Force officers Military personnel from Cheshire Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People from Cheshire