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Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

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"Harold Alexander" redirects here. For other uses, see Harold Alexander (disambiguation).
Field Marshal the Right Honourable
the Earl Alexander of Tunis
KG GCB OM GCMG CSI DSO MC CD PC PC(Can)
Harold Alexander E010750678-v8
17th Governor General of Canada

In office
12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952
Monarch
Prime Minister
Preceded by The Earl of Athlone
Succeeded by Vincent Massey
More...
Personal details
Born (1891-12-10)10 December 1891
London, United Kingdom
Died 16 June 1969(1969-06-16) (aged 77)
Slough, United Kingdom
Spouse(s) Margaret Alexander, Countess Alexander of Tunis
Children
Profession Soldier
Religion Anglicanism
Signature Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Signature
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1911–1946[1]
Rank Field Marshal
Commands See below...
Battles/wars
Awards See below
  • Harold Alexander
  • 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis
Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis
Earl Alexander of Tunis
Succeeded by Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl
Personal details
Parents

Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis KG GCB OM GCMG CSI DSO MC CD PC PC(Can) (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a British military commander and field marshal who served with distinction in both world wars and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada, the 17th since Canadian Confederation.

Alexander was born in London, England, to aristocratic parents and educated at Public school (UK)|English public schools before moving on to Sandhurst for training as an army officer. He rose to prominence through his service in the First World War, receiving numerous honours and decorations, and continued his military career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia. In the Second World War, Alexander oversaw the final stages of the evacuation from Dunkirk and subsequently had high ranking field commands in Burma, North Africa, and Italy, including Commander-in-Chief Middle East and command of 18th Army Group in Tunisia. He then commanded 15th Army Group for the capture of Sicily and again in Italy before receiving his field marshal's baton and being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean.

He was in 1946 appointed as governor general by King George VI, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King, to replace the Earl of Athlone as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Vincent Massey in 1952. Alexander proved to be enthusiastic about the Canadian wilderness, as well as a popular governor general with Canadians. He was the last non-Canadian-born governor general before the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson in 1999, as well as the last governor general to be a peer.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and thereafter,[2] in order to serve as the British Minister of Defence in the of Winston Churchill, into the Imperial Privy Council. Alexander retired in 1954 and died in 1969.

Early life[]

Alexander was born in London, the third son of the Earl and Countess of Caledon, the latter being a daughter of the Earl of Norbury. Alexander was educated at Hawtreys and Harrow School, there participating as the 11th batsman in the sensational Fowler's Match against Eton College in 1910.[3] Though Alexander toyed with the notion of becoming an artist,[4] he went instead on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In September 1911, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards,[5] and promoted to lieutenant in December 1912.[6]

World War I[]

Alexander spent the war on the Western Front. As a 22-year-old platoon commander in the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, he served in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1914. He took part in the retreat from Mons and was wounded at First Ypres and invalided home.[7] He was promoted temporary captain on 15 November 1914 and permanent captain in the newly raised 2nd Battalion on 7 February the following year.[8]

Alexander returned to the Western Front in August 1915, fought at Loos and was, for ten days in October 1915, acting major and acting Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Irish Guards as a "Battle Casualty Replacement". He then returned to 2nd Battalion as a company officer and,[7] in January 1916, received the Military Cross for his bravery at Loos.[9] For service on the Somme on 15 September 1916, he was in October appointed to the Distinguished Service Order,[10] the citation for which read: "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He was the life and soul of the attack, and throughout the day led forward not only his own men but men of all regiments. He held the trenches gained in spite of heavy machine gun fire."[10] In the same month, Alexander was further honoured with induction into the French Légion d'honneur.[11]

On 10 December 1916, Alexander took second-in-command of 1st Battalion Irish Guards as acting major.[7] By May, Alexander was briefly acting Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion,[7] as an acting lieutenant-colonel, while still only a substantive captain.[12][13] He became a permanent major on 1 August 1917[14] and was again promoted acting lieutenant-colonel,[7] this time confirmed as Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion Irish Guards, on 15 October.[15] Alexander commanded his battalion at Third Ypres, where he was slightly wounded, then at Bourlon Wood (part of the battle of Cambrai), where his battalion suffered 320 casualties out of 400 men.[7] Alexander, between 23 and 30 March 1918, had to assume command of the 4th Guards Brigade, during the British retreat.[7][16] He once again commanded 2nd Battalion at Hazebrouck in April 1918, where it took such severe casualties that it saw no further action.[7] Still an acting lieutenant-colonel, he then commanded a corps infantry school in October 1918.[17]

Rudyard Kipling, who wrote a history of the Irish Guards, in which his own son fought and was killed, noted that, "it is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the men on the lines to which they most readily responded... His subordinates loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their shortcomings; and his men were all his own."[18]

The inter-war years[]

Alexander in 1919 served with the Allied Control Commission in Poland. As a temporary lieutenant-colonel,[19] he led the Baltic German Landeswehr in the Latvian War of Independence, commanding units loyal to Latvia in the successful drive to eject the Bolsheviks from Latgalia. During service there, he was accidentally wounded by one of his own sentries on 9 October 1919.[20]

Alexander returned to Britain in May 1920 as a major, second in command of 1st Battalion Irish Guards;[7] in May 1922, he was promoted substantive lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer.[21] He commanded the battalion at Constantinople (a sensitive posting in the runup to the Chanak Crisis), then Gibraltar from October 1922, then in London from April 1923 until January 1926, when he was released from that role to attend Staff College, Camberley.[22][23] Alexander was then in February 1928 promoted to colonel (backdated to 14 May 1926[22]) and was the next month appointed Officer Commanding the Irish Guards Regimental District and 140th (4th London) Infantry Brigade in the Territorial Army[22][24][25] a post he held until January 1930, when he again returned to study, attending the Imperial Defence College for one year.[26][27] There, two of Alexander's instructors—the future field marshals Alan Brooke and Bernard Montgomery—were unimpressed by him.[28]

After the completion of his courses, Alexander, on 14 October 1931, married Lady Margaret Bingham, the daughter of the Earl of Lucan and with whom Alexander had two sons—Shane, born 1935, and Brian, born 1939—and a daughter, as well as adopting another daughter during his time as Canada's governor general.[11] Alexander then held staff appointments as (from January 1931) GSO2 in the Directorate of Military Training at the War Office and (1932–34) GSO1 at HQ Northern Command in York,[22] before being made in October 1934 a temporary brigadier and given command of the Nowshera Brigade,[29][30] on the Northwest Frontier in India.[31][32] For his service there, and in particular for his actions in the Loe-Agra operations against the Pathans in Malakand between February and April 1935, Alexander was that year made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India and was mentioned in despatches.[33][34] He was mentioned once more for his service during the Second Mohmand Campaign in Mohamad Province from August to October of the same year, serving under Brigadier Claude Auchinleck. Alexander had a reputation for leading from the front and for reaching mountain crests with or even ahead of his troops.[22][35]

In March 1937, Alexander was appointed as one of the aides-de-camp to the recently acceded King George VI and in May returned to the United Kingdom to take part in this capacity in the state procession through London during the King's coronation.[36][37] Alexander would have been seen in this event by two of his Canadian viceregal successors: Vincent Massey, who was then the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and Massey's secretary, Georges Vanier, who watched the procession from the roof of Canada House on Trafalgar Square.[38] Following the coronation celebration, Alexander returned to India, where he was made the honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment,[39] and then in October 1937 was promoted to the rank of major-general,[40] making Alexander the youngest general in the British Army.[11] He relinquished command of his brigade in January 1938,[41] and in February returned to the United Kingdom to take command of the 1st Infantry Division.[42] In June 1938 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[43]

Second World War[]

Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Alexander brought the 1st Infantry Division to France, where, in late May 1940, he successfully led the division's withdrawal to Dunkirk. Shortly after Bernard Montgomery had been appointed to command II Corps, Alexander was, while still on the beachhead, placed in command of I Corps, and left the beach on the last destroyer on 3 June after ensuring that all British troops had been evacuated.[22][44][45][46] In recognition of his services in the field from March to June 1940, Alexander was again mentioned in despatches.[47]

After Dunkirk, Alexander returned to the UK and continued to command I Corps, now guarding the coasts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.[48] He was promoted acting lieutenant-general in July 1940,[49] and appointed the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Southern Command, which was responsible for the defence of south-west England.[50][51] His rank of lieutenant-general was made permanent in December 1940.[48]

On 1 January 1942 he was knighted and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath,[52] and in February, after the Japanese invasion of Burma, was sent to India to become GOC-in-C of British Forces in Burma as a full general.[53][54] Alexander was unable to fulfil his orders to hold Rangoon, which was abandoned on 6–7 March. He took personal charge of some small local engagements, and was almost captured by the Japanese.[48] Alexander increasingly left much of the tactical conduct of the campaign to his corps commander, Bill Slim, while he himself handled the more political aspects of relations with Joe Stillwell, the nominal commander of the Chinese forces.[55] Alexander was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Allied Land Forces in Burma, March 1942, and ordered Slim to abandon Mandalay and retreat to India.[48]

Allied leaders in the Sicilian campaign

Allied leaders of the Sicilian campaign in North Africa; ( front row, left to right) General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, General Sir Harold Alexander, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, (top row, left to right) Harold Macmillan, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, and unidentified British officers; 1943

INF3-11 General Sir Harold Alexander Artist William Little 1939-1946

Portrait by William Little, circa 1943

By July 1942, the British and Indian forces in Burma had completed their fighting retreat back into India, and Alexander, having yet again been mentioned in despatches for his Burma service,[56] was recalled to the United Kingdom. He was at first selected to command the First Army, which was to take part in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. However, following a visit in early August to Egypt by British prime minister Winston Churchill and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Alan Brooke, Alexander flew to Cairo on 8 August to replace Claude Auchinleck as the Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Command, the post responsible for the overall conduct of the campaign in the desert of North Africa. At the same time, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery replaced Auchinleck as the general officer commanding the Eighth Army.[55] Alexander presided over Montgomery's victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein and the advance of the Eighth Army to Tripoli, for which Alexander was elevated to a knight grand cross of the Order of the Bath,[57] and, after the Anglo-American forces from Operation Torch and the Eighth Army converged in Tunisia in February 1943, they were brought under the unified command of a newly formed 18th Army Group headquarters, commanded by Alexander and reporting to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean at the Allied Forces Headquarters.[58] Omar Bradley, an American general on the Tunisian Campaign, credited Alexander's patience and experience with helping an inexperienced United States "field command mature and eventually come of age." [59]

The Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered by May 1943, and Alexander's command became the 15th Army Group, which was, under Eisenhower, responsible for mounting in July the Allied invasion of Sicily, again seeing Alexander controlling two armies: Montgomery's Eighth Army and George S. Patton's Seventh United States Army. After Sicily, and in preparation for the allied invasion of Italy, the Seventh Army headquarters were replaced by those of the Fifth United States Army, led by Mark Clark.[58]

When Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander for the planned Normandy Landings he suggested that Alexander become ground forces commander, as he was popular with both British and US officers. Bradley, now the American commander of the 12th Army Group, remarked that he would have preferred to work with Alexander, rather than Montgomery, as he regarded the former as "a restrained, self-effacive, and punctilious soldier". Of the problems that subsequently surfaced with Montgomery's command of the British 21st Army Group, Bradley suspected they would not have occurred with Alexander in command.[60] Brooke, however, applied pressure to keep Alexander in Italy, considering him unfit for the assignment in France.[61] Thus, Alexander remained in command of the 15th Army Group, and, with the support of numerous allied commanders, controversially authorised the bombing of the historic abbey at Cassino, which resulted in little advance on the German Winter Line defences. It was not until the fourth attempt that the Winter Line was breached by the Allies, and Alexander's forces moved on to capture Rome in June 1944, thereby achieving one of the strategic goals of the Italian campaign. However, US Fifth Army forces at Anzio, under Clark's orders, failed to follow their original break-out plan that would have trapped the German forces escaping northwards in the aftermath of the Battle of Monte Cassino, instead favouring an early and highly publicised entry into Rome two days before the Allied landings in Normandy.[62]

Alexander remained in command of 15th Army Group, as well as its successor, the Allied Armies in Italy, for most of the Italian Campaign, until December 1944, when he relinquished his command to Clark and took over as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters, responsible for all military operations in the Mediterranean Theatre. Alexander was concurrently promoted to the rank of field marshal,[62] though this was backdated to the fall of Rome on 4 June 1944,[63] so that Alexander would once again be senior to Montgomery, who had himself been made a field marshal on 1 September 1944, after the end of the Battle of Normandy. Alexander then received the German surrender in Italy, on 29 April 1945. Further, as a reward for his leadership in North Africa and Italy, Alexander, along with a number of other prominent British Second World War military leaders, was elevated to the peerage on 1 March 1946 by King George VI; he was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal in the County of Donegal.[64]

Alan Brooke felt that Alexander needed an able chief of staff "to think for him",[65] while Montgomery (Alexander's subordinate in Africa and Italy) claimed to think of Alexander as "incompetent" and success was attained in Tunisia only because Montgomery lent Brian Horrocks to organise the coup de grace.[65] However, Harold Macmillan was impressed by Alexander's calm and style, conducting dinners in his mess like those at an Oxbridge high table, discussing architecture and the campaigns of Belisarius, rather than the current war.[65] Macmillan thought Alexander's urbane manner and willingness to discuss and compromise were a sensible way to maintain inter-Allied cooperation, but Alexander's reserve was such that some thought him empty of strategic ideas and unable to make decisions.[n 1] Graham and Bidwell wrote that Alexander's impenetrable reserve made it hard to judge whether or not he had any military ideas, but that he was "unable or unwilling" to assert his will over his army commanders, and that Mark Clark exploited this weakness.[65]

Governor General of Canada[]

With the cessation of hostilities, Alexander was under serious consideration for appointment to the post of Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the British army's most senior position beneath the sovereign, but he was invited by Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to be his recommendation to the King for the post of Governor General of Canada. Alexander thus chose to retire from the army and take up the new position, and, in anticipation of his viceregal posting, was on 26 January 1946 appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.[70] It was then announced from the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada on 21 March 1946 that George VI had, by commission under the royal sign-manual and signet, approved the recommendation of his prime minister, Mackenzie King, to appoint Alexander as his representative. Alexander was subsequently sworn-in during a ceremony in the Senate chamber on 12 April that year.[71]

Alexander-arrives

The Viscount and Viscountess Alexander of Tunis are greeted by Prime Minister of Canada Mackenzie King upon the viceregal couple's arrival in Ottawa, 12 April 1946

Alexander took his duties as the viceroy quite seriously, feeling that, as governor general, he acted as a connection between Canadians and their king, and spent considerable time travelling Canada during his term; he eventually logged no less than 294,500 km (184,000 mi) during his five years as governor general. On these trips, he sought to engage with Canadians through various ceremonies and events; he was keenly interested in his role as Chief Scout of Canada, and, in preparation for his kicking of the opening ball in the 1946 Grey Cup final, practised frequently on the grounds of the royal and viceroyal residence, Rideau Hall. Also, in commemoration of Alexander being named the first non-aboriginal chief of the Kwakiutl tribe, he was given a totem pole on 13 July 1946; crafted by Mungo Martin, it remains on the grounds of Rideau Hall today.[11] By the end of the year, Alexander was also distinguished with his induction as a Knight of the Order of the Garter.[72]

In 1947, the King issued letters patent granting his Canadian governor general permission to exercise all those powers belonging to the monarch in respect of Canada and, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference of 1949, the decision was reached to use the term member of the Commonwealth instead of Dominion to refer to the non-British member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. That same year, Alexander oversaw the admission of the British crown colony of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation and toured the new province that summer. Then, during a later visit to Alberta, the Governor General was admitted to the Blackfoot tribe as Chief Eagle Head. However, though the post-war period saw a boom in prosperity for Canada, the country was again at war by 1950, with Alexander, in his role as acting commander-in-chief, deploying to the Korean War soldiers, sailors, and airmen, whom he would visit prior to their departure for north-east Asia.[11]

Alexander-NFLD

In the Governor General's study at Rideau Hall, Alexander (centre) receives for his signature the bill finalising the union of Newfoundland and Canada, 31 March 1949[n 2]

The Viscount travelled abroad on official trips—in 1947 visiting US president Harry S. Truman and in June 1948 Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra—as well as hosting a number of dignitaries. The visit of the Irish Taoiseach, John A. Costello, in 1948, caused Alexander some embarrassment when Costello chose the occasion to announce that Ireland was leaving the Commonwealth. Although the decision had been taken in principle some time before, the sudden announcement caused a diplomatic storm and Costello, to deflect criticism, claimed that he had been provoked into making the announcement by a series of diplomatic snubs by Alexander. In his memoirs Costello was to admit that Alexander's behaviour had in fact been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made.[73]

The Alexanders' relatively informal lifestyle at Rideau Hall was demonstrated when, during the Canadian tour of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Viscount and Viscountess hosted a square dance in the palace's ballroom. Alexander painted—creating a personal studio in the former dairy at Rideau Hall and mounting classes in art at the National Gallery of Canada[11]—partook in a number of sports, including golf, ice hockey, and rugby, and enjoyed the outdoors—particularly during Ontario and Quebec's maple syrup harvest, himself overseeing the process on Rideau Hall's grounds.[11] The Viscount was known to escape from official duties to partake in his most favourite pastime of fishing, once departing from the 1951 royal tour of Princess Elizabeth to take in a day's fishing at Griffin Island, in Georgian Bay, and granting a day off for students in the town of Drayton, Ontario, where his train briefly stopped.[74]

Amongst Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment.[61] Not only did he have a much praised military reputation—he was considered to be the best military strategist since the Duke of Wellington[74]—but he was also a charismatic figure with an easy ability to communicate with people.[11] Others, however, did not fully approve of Alexander; editor Hugh Templin, from Fergus, Ontario, met with Alexander during Templin's time as a special correspondent with the Canadian Press during the Second World War, and he said of the encounter: "Lord Alexander impressed us considerably, if not too favourably. He was an aristocratic type, who didn't like newspaper men."[74]

British Minister of Defence[]

Alexander departed the office of Governor General of Canada in early 1952, after Churchill asked him to return to London to take the post of Minister of Defence in the British government.[61] The ageing Churchill had found it increasingly difficult to cope with holding that portfolio concurrently with that of prime minister, although he still took many major decisions himself, leaving Alexander with little real power.[75] Soon after, George VI died on the night of 5–6 February and Alexander, in respect of the King's mourning, departed quietly for the United Kingdom, leaving Chief Justice of Canada Thibaudeau Rinfret as administrator of the government in his place. After his return to the UK, Alexander was on 14 March 1952 elevated in the peerage by the new queen, becoming Earl Alexander of Tunis, Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg.[76] He was also appointed to the organising committee for the Queen's coronation and was charged with carrying the Sovereign's Orb in the state procession on that occasion in 1953.[77][78]

Retirement[]

The Earl served as the British defence minister until 1954, when he retired from politics and, in 1959, the Queen appointed Alexander to the Order of Merit.[79]

Canada remained a favourite second home for the Alexanders and they returned frequently to visit family and friends until Alexander died on 16 June 1969 of a perforated aorta.[1] His funeral was held on 24 June 1969, at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, and his remains are buried in the churchyard of Ridge, near Tyttenhanger, his family's Hertfordshire home.[11]

Titles, styles, honours, and arms[]

Titles[]

Viceregal styles of
  • The Viscount Alexander of Tunis
  • (1946–1952)
CAN-GG-crest
Reference style
  • His Excellency the Right Honourable
  • Son Excellence le très honorable
Spoken style
  • Your Excellency
  • Votre Excellence
Alternative style
  • Sir
  • Monsieur
United Kingdom United Kingdom
  • 10 December 1891 – September 1911: The Honourable Harold Alexander
  • September 1911 – December 1912: Second Lieutenant the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • December 1912 – February 1915: Lieutenant the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • February 1915 – August 1917: Captain the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • August 1917 – May 1922: Major the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • May 1922 – February 1928: Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • February 1928 – October 1934: Colonel the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • October 1934 – October 1937: Brigadier the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • October 1937 – July 1940: Major-General the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • July 1940 – 1 January 1942: Lieutenant-General the Honourable Harold Alexander
  • 1 January 1942 – 12 December 1944: General the Honourable Sir Harold Alexander
  • 12 December 1944 – 1 March 1946: Field Marshal the Honourable Sir Harold Alexander
  • 1 March 1946 – 14 March 1952: Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Viscount Alexander of Tunis
  • 14 March 1952 – 16 June 1969: Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Earl Alexander of Tunis
Canada Canada
  • 12 April 1946 – 1 October 1947: His Excellency Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Viscount Alexander of Tunis, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia and Naval and Air Forces of Canada
  • 1 October 1947 – 28 February 1952: His Excellency Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Viscount Alexander of Tunis, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada

Unofficial[]

Canada Alberta
  • Chief Eagle Head[80]

Honours[]

Appointments
Decorations
Medals
Awards
  • United Kingdom 4 January 1917: Mentioned in Despatches[94]
  • United Kingdom 27 December 1918: Mentioned in Despatches[95]
  • United Kingdom 8 July 1919: Mentioned in Despatches[95]
  • United Kingdom 3 February 1920: Mentioned in Despatches[95]
  • United Kingdom 7 February 1936: Mentioned in Despatches[34]
  • United Kingdom 8 May 1936: Mentioned in Despatches[35]
  • United Kingdom 20 December 1940: Mentioned in Despatches[47]
  • United Kingdom 28 October 1942: Mentioned in Despatches[56]
  • Royal Standard of the United Kingdom: Augmentation of honour
Foreign honours and decorations

Honorary military appointments[]

Arms[]

Coat of arms of H
Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis
Notes
Arms of The Earl Alexander of Tunis: Per pale argent and sable a chevron and in base a crescent all counterchanged on a canton azure a harp or stringed argent.

List of works[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ British diplomat David Hunt, who, during the Second World War served as an intelligence officer in Greece, North Africa, and Italy, and who after the war was a member of the British Committee of Historians of the Second World War,[66] wrote in his war memoirs of Alexander's "brilliant grasp of manoeuvre and deception" and "very sound understanding of the realities of military supply and administration".[67] He also noted that Alexander was, by the almost universal judgement of "men of experience in senior stations", the "foremost British commander of the war". This was, to his personal knowledge, the case with three British prime ministers: Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill, and Harold Macmillan.[68] Hunt also quotes Omar Bradley as writing "He not only showed the shrewd tactical judgement that was to make him the outstanding general's general of the European war but was easily able to comport the nationally-minded and jealous Allied personalities of his command. In each successive Mediterranean campaign he had won the adulation of his American subordinates".[69]
  2. ↑ The other figures present are (left to right) Leader of the Government in the Senate Wishart McLea Robertson, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, Speaker of the House of Commons Gaspard Fauteux, and Speaker of the Senate James Horace King.
  3. ↑ It was on 16 September 1946 that the Canadian priory of the Order of Saint John was created, and Alexander became the first prior and chief officer in Canada. He relinquished this status on 28 February 1952 to his viceregal successor, thus returning to holding solely the rank of knight of justice in the British priory of the order.[82]

Citations[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "World War II unit histories and officers". http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_A05.html. Retrieved 19 June 2008. 
  2. ↑ Privy Council Office (30 October 2008). "Information Resources > Historical Alphabetical List since 1867 of Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada > A". Queen's Printer for Canada. http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres/hist/A-E-eng.htm#A. Retrieved 20 March 2009. 
  3. ↑ Williamson, Martin (9 April 2005). "Fowler's Match". London: Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/143944.html. Retrieved 21 March 2009. 
  4. ↑ Graham & Bidwell 1986, p. 34.
  5. ↑ "No. 28533". 22 September 1911. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28533/page/ 
  6. ↑ "No. 28688". 7 February 1913. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28688/page/ 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Heathcote 1999, p. 14
  8. ↑ "No. 29160". 12 May 1915. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29160/supplement/ 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "No. 29438". 14 January 1916. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29438/supplement/ 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "No. 29793". 20 October 1916. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29793/supplement/ 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Office of the Governor General of Canada. "Governor General > Former Governors General > Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of Tunis". Queen's Printer for Canada. http://www.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp. Retrieved 20 March 2009. 
  12. ↑ "No. 30027". 17 April 1917. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30027/page/ 
  13. ↑ "No. 30179". 10 July 1917. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30179/page/ 
  14. ↑ "No. 30253". 24 August 1917. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30253/supplement/ 
  15. ↑ "No. 30385". 16 November 1917. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30385/page/ 
  16. ↑ Graham & Bidwell 1986, p. 34
  17. ↑ "No. 31048". 3 December 1918. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31048/page/ 
  18. ↑ Kipling, Rudyard. "The Irish Guards in the Great War, Vol. 2". http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.di2.nu/files/kipling/IrishGuardsv2.html. Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
  19. ↑ "No. 31958". 29 June 1920. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31958/page/ 
  20. ↑ Keegan 1991, pp. 107–108 & 128
  21. ↑ "No. 32702". 16 May 1922. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32702/supplement/ 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 Heathcote 1999, p. 15
  23. ↑ "No. 33126". 22 January 1926. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33126/page/ 
  24. ↑ "No. 33356". 14 February 1928. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33356/page/ 
  25. ↑ "No. 33371". 30 March 1928. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33371/page/ 
  26. ↑ "No. 33572". 21 January 1930. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33572/page/ 
  27. ↑ "No. 33573". 24 January 1930. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33573/page/ 
  28. ↑ Graham & Bidwell 1986, p. 35
  29. ↑ "No. 33687". 6 February 1931. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33687/page/ 
  30. ↑ "No. 33806". 8 March 1932. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33806/page/ 
  31. ↑ "No. 34123". 11 January 1935. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34123/page/ 
  32. ↑ "No. 34112". 7 December 1934. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34112/page/ 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "No. 34253". 7 February 1936. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34253/page/ 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "No. 34253". 7 February 1936. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34253/page/ 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "No. 34282". 8 May 1936. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34282/page/ 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "No. 34264". 13 March 1937. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34264/page/ 
  37. ↑ "No. 34453". 9 November 1937. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34453/supplement/ 
  38. ↑ Renzetti, Elizabeth (26 December 2008). "'Vulnerability brings us together'". http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081225.wnbvanier1227/BNStory/nationbuilder2008/home?pageRequested=all&print=true. Retrieved 17 March 2009. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "No. 34414". 2 July 1937. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34414/page/ 
  40. ↑ "No. 34444". 15 October 1937. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34444/page/ 
  41. ↑ "No. 34492". 11 March 1938. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34492/page/ 
  42. ↑ "No. 34487". 25 February 1938. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34487/page/ 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "No. 34518". 7 June 1938. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34518/page/ 
  44. ↑ Mead 2007, pp. 41–42
  45. ↑ "After the Auk". 31 August 1942. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849992,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved 1 March 2008. 
  46. ↑ Bradley 1951, p. 182.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "No. 35020". 20 December 1940. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35020/page/ 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 Heathcote 1999, p. 16
  49. ↑ "No. 34899". 16 July 1940. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34899/supplement/ 
  50. ↑ Mead 2007, p. 42
  51. ↑ "No. 35503". 27 March 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35503/page/ 
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 "No. 35399". 1 January 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35399/page/ 
  53. ↑ "No. 35503". 27 March 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35503/page/ 
  54. ↑ "No. 35509". 31 March 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35509/supplement/ 
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Mead 2007, p. 43
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 "No. 35763". 27 October 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35763/supplement/ 
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 "No. 35782". 10 November 1942. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35782/supplement/ 
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Mead 2007, p. 44
  59. ↑ Bradley 1951, p. 35
  60. ↑ Bradley 1951, pp. 207–208
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 Mead 2007, p. 46
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Mead 2007, p. 45
  63. ↑ "No. 36822". 1 December 1944. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36822/supplement/ 
  64. ↑ "No. 37407". 28 December 1945. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37407/supplement/ 
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 Graham & Bidwell 1986, pp. 35–6
  66. ↑ Hunt 1990, p. xxvi
  67. ↑ Hunt 1990, p. xxv
  68. ↑ Hunt 1990, pp. xxiv, xxv.
  69. ↑ Hunt 1990, pp. xxv, xxvi.
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 "No. 37453". 1 February 1946. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37453/page/ 
  71. ↑ Coucill 1998, p. 86
  72. ↑ 72.0 72.1 "No. 37807". 3 December 1946. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37807/supplement/ 
  73. ↑ McCullagh, David (2010). Reluctant Taoiseach. Gill and Macmilllan. pp. 207–212. 
  74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 74.2 Thorning, Stephen. "Valuing Our History". http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/index.cfm?page=colDetail&itmno=245. Retrieved 26 March 2009. 
  75. ↑ Heathcote 1999, p. 17
  76. ↑ "No. 39491". 14 March 1952. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39491/page/ 
  77. ↑ "No. 39569". 10 June 1952. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39569/page/ 
  78. ↑ "No. 40020". 17 November 1953. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40020/supplement/ 
  79. ↑ "No. 41589". 30 December 1958. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41589/supplement/ 
  80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 80.2 80.3 "Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of Tunis". Governor-General of Canada. http://archive.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp. Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
  81. ↑ "No. 37417". 1 January 1946. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37417/page/ 
  82. ↑ "Saint John Ambulance > About Us > The Order of St. John > The Order of St. John in Canada". St. John Ambulance Canada. http://www.sja.ca/CANADA/ABOUTUS/THEORDER/Pages/TheOrderofStJohninCanada.aspx. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 
  83. ↑ "No. 41998". 1 April 1960. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41998/page/ 
  84. ↑ "No. 44450". 14 November 1967. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/44450/page/ 
  85. ↑ "Deputy Chief Scout will visit Gibsons". Coast News. 28 January 1960. http://historicalnewspapers.library.ubc.ca/view/collection/coastnews/date/1960-01-28#1. Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
  86. ↑ "Canada: Dominion High Commissioners; use of suffix 'PC (Can)' (member of the Canadian Privy Council) and title 'Right Honorable'". Records of the Privy Council and other records collected by the Privy Council Office. The National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=8575861&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5. Retrieved 3 June 2012. 
  87. ↑ "No. 39566". 6 June 1952. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39566/page/ 
  88. ↑ "No. 41072". 17 May 1957. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41072/page/ 
  89. ↑ "No. 43616". 2 April 1965. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/43616/page/ 
  90. ↑ "No. 42110". 5 August 1960. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42110/page/ 
  91. ↑ "No. 41589". 30 December 1958. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41589/page/ 
  92. ↑ McCreery, Christopher (2005). The Canadian Honours System. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1550025545. 
  93. ↑ 93.00 93.01 93.02 93.03 93.04 93.05 93.06 93.07 93.08 93.09 93.10 93.11 93.12 Apparent from the campaigns in which he served
  94. ↑ "No. 29890". 2 January 1917. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29890/supplement/ 
  95. ↑ 95.0 95.1 95.2 95.3 "Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis". World War II Unit Histories & officers. http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=../officers/personsx.html. Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
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  104. ↑ "No. 37739". 27 September 1946. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37739/supplement/ 
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References[]

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  • Jackson, General W.G.F. & with Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1987]. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume VI: Part II – June to October 1944. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-071-8. 
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External links[]

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Military offices
Preceded by
Clement Armitage 		General Officer Commanding the 1st Infantry Division
1938–1940 		Succeeded by
Kenneth Anderson
Preceded by
Michael Barker 		GOC I Corps
1940 		Succeeded by
Laurence Carr
Preceded by
Sir Claude Auchinleck 		GOC-in-C Southern Command
1940–1942 		Succeeded by
Sir Henry Loyd
Commander-in Chief Middle East Command
1942–1943 		Succeeded by
Sir Henry Wilson
New title Deputy Commander of the Allied Force Headquarters
1943–1944 		Succeeded by
Unknown
Preceded by
Sir Henry Maitland Wilson 		Supreme Commander of the Allied Force Headquarters
1944–1945 		Position abolished
Government offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Athlone 		Governor General of Canada
1946–1952 		Succeeded by
Vincent Massey
Political offices
Preceded by
Winston Churchill 		Minister of Defence
1952–1954 		Succeeded by
Harold Macmillan
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Viscount Alanbrooke 		Lord Lieutenant of the County of London
1956–1965 		County of London abolished
Preceded by
The Earl of Halifax 		Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
1959–1967 		Succeeded by
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Preceded by
The Lord Wilson 		Constable of the Tower of London
1960–1965 		Succeeded by
Sir Gerald Templer
New title Lord Lieutenant of Greater London
1965–1966
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title Earl Alexander of Tunis
1952–1969 		Succeeded by
Shane Alexander
Viscount Alexander of Tunis
1946–1969
Ministers for Defence
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government)
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