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 ...

Sir Edmund Hakewill-Smith, (17 March 1896 – 15 April 1986) 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 in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

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 ...

Early life and First World War

Hakewill-Smith was born in Kimberley,

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

, on 17 March 1896. He was educated at the Diocesan College ("Bishops") in Rondebosch,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, and, 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 ...

, he went to England to attend 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 ...

, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Scots Fusiliers, a line infantry regiment of the

, on 16 June 1915. He served with the 2nd (Regular) Battalion of his regiment on the Western Front, where he was wounded twice and, during the final Hundred Days Offensive in the latter half of 1918, 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 ...

. The citation for the award read:

Between the wars

After the war Hakewill-Smith remained in the army and served with the British Military Mission to South Russia in 1920. In 1921 he was aide-de-camp to

Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland, (11 June 1876 – 6 February 1961), styled Lord Dundas until 1892 and Earl of Ronaldshay between 1892 and 1929, was a British Conservative politician. An expert on India, he served as Secreta ...

(Governor of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

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 ...

). He later served as an adjutant to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers between 1927 and 1930, and was a student at the

Staff College, Quetta ( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India) , closed ...

from 1932 to 1933. He later served on the staff of 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 ...

from 1934 to 1936.

Second World War

During the

, Hakewill-Smith served as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 5th Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

, for several months from May 1940 and, from September that year, as the CO of the 4th/5th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, as an acting lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to temporary

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. I ...

on 30 March 1941, and commanded the 157th Infantry Brigade until late March 1942, when he was promoted to the acting rank of major-general. He then became Director of Organization at the War Office, before assuming command of the 155th Infantry Brigade in mid-February 1943. On 26 December, after his major-general's rank was made temporary, he assumed command of the

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...

-trained

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowland ...

from Major General

Neil Ritchie General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie, (29 July 1897 – 11 December 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service during both the world wars. He is most notable during the Second World War for commanding the British Eighth Army in the North Af ...

as its General Officer Commanding (GOC). He commanded the 52nd Division during the last few months of the campaign in North-West Europe from October 1944 until May 1945. Hakewill-Smith was appointed 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 ...

in 1944 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945. He served as the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Scots Fusiliers from 1946 to 1957.

Postwar

After the war, Hakewill-Smith commanded the Lowland District in Scotland before serving as President of the Military Court for War Crimes Trial of German Field Marshal

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

. He retired from the army in 1949. In addition, he served at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

as a

Military Knight of Windsor The Military Knights of Windsor, originally the Alms Knights and informally the Poor Knights, are retired military officers who receive a pension and accommodation at Windsor Castle, and who provide support for the Order of the Garter and for the ...

, later being appointed Lieutenant Governor of the castle (1964–1972) and was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1967. He died in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, Surrey in 1986 at the age of 90.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939–1945
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakewill-Smith, Edmund 1896 births 1986 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Military Knights of Windsor People from Kimberley, Northern Cape Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Scots Fusiliers officers South African knights South African people of British descent British Army major generals South African emigrants to the United Kingdom