Frederick Alfred Pile
| Sir Frederick Pile | |
|---|---|
 Sir Frederick Pile |
|
| Born | 14 September 1884 |
| Died | 14 November 1976 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1904–1945 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Anti-Aircraft Command |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Military Cross |
General Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, 2nd Baronet GCB DSO MC (14 September 1884 – 14 November 1976) was a British Army officer who served in both World Wars. In the Second World War he was General Officer Commanding Anti-Aircraft Command, one of the elements that protected Britain from aerial attack.
Early life [edit]
Born in Dublin as the eldest son of Sir Thomas Devereux Pile, 1st Baronet and his wife, Caroline Maude Nicholson,[1] Pile was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1904.[2] He initially served in India.[2]
He served in World War I and was involved in the retreat from Mons and was a Staff Captain with 1st Division before becoming a Brigade Major with 40th Division in 1916.[2] In the closing stages of the War he became a General Staff Officer with 22nd Corps in France.[2]
After the War he was appointed a Brigade Major at Brighton and Shoreham District.[2] He transferred to the Royal Tank Corps in 1923.[2] In 1928 he became Commander of the 1st Experimental Mechanized Force and Assistant Director of Mechanisation at the War Office.[2] He went to Egypt in 1932 as Commander of the Canal Brigade Mechanized Force.[2]
In 1937 he became General Officer Commanding 1st Anti Aircraft Division and in 1939, at the start of World War II, he was made General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Anti-Aircraft Command, a position he held throughout the War.[2] He was to tell the story after the war, in his official dispatch and in his book Ack-Ack: Britain's Defence against Air Attack during the Second World War.[3] His plan for "Engagement of Long Range Rockets with AA Gunfire" (gunfire into a radar-predicted airspace to intercept the V-2 rocket) was ready on 21 March 1945 but the plan was not used due to the danger of shells falling on Greater London.[4]
After the War he became Director General of Housing with the Ministry of Works.[2]
He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1945 to 1952.[2]
In 1948 a locomotive of the Southern Railway SR Battle of Britain Class was named after him at Waterloo station in London.[5][6] This locomotive has since been preserved and is under restoration at the Avon Valley Railway in Bristol, United Kingdom.[7][8]
Family life [edit]
In 1915 he married Vera Millicent Lloyd: they went on to have two sons. In 1932 he married Hester Mary Melba Phillimore. In 1951, he married Molly Eveline Louise Mary Home.[1]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Frederick Pile at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ "JSTOR: Ack-Ack: Britain's Defence against Air Attack during the Second World War". Journal Storage (JSTOR). Retrieved 10 May 2007.
- ^ Ordway, Frederick I, III; Sharpe, Mitchell R. The Rocket Team. Apogee Books Space Series 36. p. 262.
- ^ side view of the locomotive showing the SIR FREDERICK PILE name and crest
- ^ Pile Family Crest as carried by the Southern Railway locomotive
- ^ "34058 - Sir Frederick Pile". 34058 Restoration Group. Retrieved 8 July 2006.
- ^ "Rebuilt Bulleid WC/BB 'West Country' and 'Battle of Britain' class 4-6-2". Southern E-Group. 23 June 2003.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Alan Brooke |
GOC-in-C Anti-Aircraft Command 1939 - 1945 |
Succeeded by Sir William Green |
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