Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

"Harold Alexander" redirects here. For other uses, see Harold Alexander (disambiguation).

Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Earl Alexander of Tunis KG PC(UK) GCB OM GCMG CSI DSO MC CD PC(Can)
17th Governor General of Canada
In office 12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952
Monarchs	George VI Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	William L. Mackenzie King Louis St. Laurent
Preceded by	The Earl of Athlone
Succeeded by	Vincent Massey
More...
Personal details
Born	Infobox Military Person (1891-12-10)10 December 1891 London, United Kingdom
Died	16 June 1969(1969-06-16) (aged 77) Slough, United Kingdom
Resting place	Infobox Military Person
Spouse	Margaret Alexander, Countess Alexander of Tunis
Children	Rose Maureen Alexander Shane William Desmond Alexander Brian James Alexander
Parent	Infobox Military Person
Profession	Soldier
Awards	See below
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1911 – 1946
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	See below...
Battles/wars	World War I Latvian War of Independence World War II

Harold Alexander 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Earl Alexander of Tunis
Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis
Tenure	14 March 1952 – 16 June 1969 (17 years, 94 days)
Successor	Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl
Other titles	1st Viscount Alexander of Tunis 1st Baron Rideau
Parents	James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler

Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis KG PC (UK) GCB OM GCMG CSI DSO MC CD 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 parents of noble heritage, and was educated at 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 acted as a high ranking commander in North Africa and Italy. He commanded 15th Army Group in Sicily and again in Italy before being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean. He was in 1946 appointed as governor general by George VI, king of Canada, 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 the Canadian people, and he would be the last non-Canadian-born governor general before the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson in 1999.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and thereafter, in order to serve as the British Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Winston Churchill, into the Queen's British 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 notorious Fowler's Match against Eton College in 1910. Though Alexander toyed with the notion of becoming an artist, he went instead on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

World War I

From Sandhurst, Alexander was in September 1911 commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards, which, when the First World War erupted only three years later, formed part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Alexander was by then a 22-year-old lieutenant (having been promoted in December 1912) and platoon commander, until February 1915, when he was promoted to the rank of captain, and, in February 1917, to major. However, during certain periods, Alexander acted in higher ranking capacities, notably for three months in 1917 when he was an acting lieutenant-colonel while still only a substantive captain, as well as for nearly all the time between November 1917 and the end of the war, when he acted in the same rank in command of a battalion. He briefly had to assume command of his brigade during the British retreat of March 1918, after which Alexander was further charged with the command of a corps infantry school as an acting lieutenant-colonel in October of the same year.

During his service on the Western Front, Alexander was wounded twice in four years of fighting. For his bravery and sacrifice, he received in January 1916 the Military Cross, and in October of the same year was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order, 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." In the same month Alexander was also inducted into the French Légion d'honneur.

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."

The inter-war years

In 1919 and 1920, as a temporary lieutenant-colonel, Alexander led the Baltic German Landeswehr in the Latvian War of Independence, commanding units loyal to the Republic of Latvia in the successful drive to eject the Bolsheviks from Latgalia. After later serving in Turkey and Gibraltar, in 1922 Alexander's temporary rank was made substantive when he was appointed to command the 1st battalion of his regiment, and in January 1926 he was released from that role to attend Staff College, Camberley. Alexander was then in February 1928 promoted to colonel, and was the next month appointed as commandant of the Irish Guards and its regimental district, a post he held until January 1930, when he again returned to study, attending the Imperial Defence College for one year. There, two of Alexander's instructors— the future field marshals Alan Brooke and Bernard Montgomery— were unimpressed by him.

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. Alexander then held staff appointments as GSO2 and GSO1 before being made in October 1934 a temporary brigadier and given command of the Nowshera Brigade, on the Northwest Frontier in India. For his service there, and in particular for his actions in the Loe-Agra operations 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. He was mentioned once more for his service during the Second Mohmand Campaign in Mohamad Province from August to October of the same year.

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. 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. Following the coronation celebration, Alexander returned to India, where he was made the honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment, and then in October 1937 was promoted to the rank of major-general, making Alexander the youngest general in the British Army. He relinquished command of his brigade in January 1938, and in February returned to the United Kingdom to take command of the 1st Infantry Division.

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 3 June after ensuring that all British troops had been evacuated. In recognition of his services in the field from March to June 1940, Alexander was again mentioned in despatches.

Having been confirmed as a lieutenant-general in July 1940, Alexander returned to the UK to be made the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Southern Command, which was responsible for the defence of south-west England. On 1 January 1942 he was knighted and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, and in February, after the Japanese invasion of Burma, was sent to India to become GOC-in-C Burma as a full general. While he commanded what would later be the Fourteenth Army, Alexander left the tactical conduct of the campaign to his corps commander, Bill Slim, while Alexander himself handled the more political aspects of relations with Joe Stillwell, the nominal commander of the Chinese forces.

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

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, 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. 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, 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. 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."

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.

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. Brooke, however, applied pressure to keep Alexander in Italy, considering him unfit for the assignment in France. 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.

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, though this was backdated to the fall of Rome on 4 June 1944, 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.

Of Alexander, Alan Brooke felt that he needed an able chief of staff "to think for him", while Montgomery (Alexander's subordinate in Africa and Italy) claimed to think of Alexander as "incompetent" and success was only attained in Tunisia only because Montgomery lent Brian Horrocks to organise the coup de grace. 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. 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. Mark Clark allegedly exploited Alexander's supposed inability to assert his will over his army commanders.

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 preparation for his viceregal posting, was on 26 January 1946 appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. 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.

The Viscount and Viscountess Alexander of Tunis are greeted by Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon 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 gifted a totem pole on 13 July 1946; crafted by Mungo Martin, it remains on the grounds of Rideau Hall today. By the end of the year, Alexander was also distinguished with his induction as a Knight of the Order of the Garter.

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 Imperial 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.

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

While 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 Alexanders led a relatively informal lifestyle at Rideau Hall. For the visit of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who toured Canada in 1951, less than two years before the Princess acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, 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— 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. 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.

Amongst Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment. Not only did he have a much praised military reputation— he was considered to be the best military strategist since the Duke of Wellington— but he was also a charismatic figure with an easy ability to communicate with people. 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."

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, as the ageing Churchill had found it increasingly difficult to cope with holding that portfolio concurrently with that of prime minister. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles

Viceregal styles of The Viscount Alexander of Tunis (1946–1952)
Reference style	His Excellency the Right Honourable Son Excellence le très honorable
Spoken style	Your Excellency Votre Excellence

United Kingdom

• 10 December 1891 – September 1911: The Honourable Harold Alexander
• September 1911 – February 1915: Lieutenant the Honourable Harold Alexander
• February 1915 – February 1917: Captain the Honourable Harold Alexander
• February 1917 – 1928: Major the Honourable Harold Alexander
• 1928 – October 1937: Colonel 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

• 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

Alexander's style and title as governor general was, in full, and in English: His Excellency Field Marshal the Right Honourable Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Legionnaire Fifth Class of the Légion d'honneur, Member Second Class with Swords of the Order of St. Anna, Member First Class of the Order of Suvorov, Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of George I, Member Fifth Class of the Order Virtuti Militari, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada, Field Marshal of the Militia of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and in French: Son Excellence le très honourable Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, vicomte Alexander de Tunis et Errigal, chevalier de le nobilissime ordre de la Jarretière, chevalier grand-croix de le très honorable ordre du Bain, compagnon de l'ordre très exalté de l'Etoile de l'Inde, chevalier grand-croix de le très distingué ordre de Saint-Michel et Saint-George, compagnon de l'ordre du service distingué, légionnaire cinquieme classe de le Légion d'honneur, membre deuxieme classe avec épées de l'ordre de Sainte-Anne, membre premier classe de l'ordre de Souvorov, membre grand-croix de l'ordre royale du George I, membre cinqiemme classe de l'ordre militaire de Virtuti Militari, gouverneur générale et commandant en chef du Canada, Field-Marshal de la milice du Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Norde.

In his post-viceregal life, Alexander's style and title was: Field Marshal the Right Honourable Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, Earl Alexander of Tunis, Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg, Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Grand Master of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Member of the Order of Merit, Legionnaire Fifth Class of the Légion d'honneur, Member Second Class with Swords of the Order of St. Anna, Member First Class of the Order of Suvorov, Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of George I, Member Fifth Class of the Order Virtuti Militari, Field Marshal of the Militia of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Alexander's post-nominal letters are, in order according to the Oxford University Calendar Notes on Style: KG, PC (UK), GCB, OM, GCMG, CSI, DSO, MC, CD, PC (Can), LLD(hc) Harv, LLD(hc) Prin

Unofficial

Alberta

• Chief Eagle Head

Honours

Ribbon bars of the Earl Alexander of Tunis

Appointments

• 7 February 1936 – 16 June 1969: Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)
• 1938 – 1 January 1942: Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)
  • 1 January 1942 – 11 November 1942: Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB)
  • 11 November 1942 – 16 June 1969: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB)
• 1 January 1946 – 16 June 1969: Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
• 16 September 1946 – 28 February 1952: Knight of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer in Canada of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
• 20 January 1946 – 25 March 1960: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)
  • 25 March 1960 – 12 October 1967: Grand Master of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
• 12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952: Chief Scout of Canada
• 1946 – 16 June 1969: Honorary Member of the Royal Military College of Canada Club
• 13 July 1946 – 16 June 1969: Honorary Chief of the Kwakiutl Tribe
• 3 December 1946 – 16 June 1969: Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
• 1950 – 16 June 1969: Chief of the Blackfoot Tribe
• 29 January 1952 – 16 June 1969: Member of the King's Privy Council for Canada (PC)
• 1952 – 16 June 1969: Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (PC)
• 17 May 1957 – 1 April 1965: Lord Lieutenant of the County of London
• 1 April 1965 – 28 December 1966: Lord Lieutenant of Greater London
• 1960 – 1965: Constable of the Tower of London
• 1 January 1959 – 16 June 1969: Member of the Order of Merit (OM)

Decorations

• 14 January 1916: Military Cross (MC)
• 20 October 1916: Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
• 7 June 1951: Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)

Medals

• 1919: 1914-15 Star
• 1919: British War Medal
• 1919: Victory Medal
• 1926: Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
• 1935: King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
• 1936: India General Service Medal
• 1937: King George VI Coronation Medal
• 1945: 1939–45 Star
• 1945: Burma Star
• 1945: Italy Star
• 1945: Africa Star
• 1945: War Medal 1939–1945
• 1953: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

Awards

• 4 January 1917: Mentioned in Despatches
• 27 December 1918: Mentioned in Despatches
• 8 July 1919: Mentioned in Despatches
• 3 February 1920: Mentioned in Despatches
• 7 February 1936: Mentioned in Despatches
• 8 May 1936: Mentioned in Despatches
• 20 December 1940: Mentioned in Despatches
• 28 October 1942: Mentioned in Despatches
• : Augmentation of honour

Foreign honours and decorations

• 20 October 1916 – 16 June 1969: Legionnaire Fifth Class of the Légion d'honneur
• 10 August 1943: Chief Commanders of Legion of Merit
• : Member Second Class with Swords of the Order of St. Anna
• 29 February 1944 – 16 June 1969: Member First Class of the Order of Suvorov
• 20 June 1944 – 16 June 1969: Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of George I
• 5 December 1944 – 16 June 1969: Member Fifth Class of the Order Virtuti Militari
• 2 August 1945: Distinguished Service Medal

Honorary military appointments

• 7 March 1936 – 19 November 1937: Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty the King (ADC)
• 2 July 1937 – 14 August 1947: Colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment
• 20 July 1944 – 2 August 1946: Aide-de-Camp General to His Majesty the King (ADC General)
• 12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952: Colonel of the Regiment of the Governor General's Horse Guards
• 12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952: Colonel of the Regiment of the Governor General's Foot Guards
• 12 April 1946 – 28 February 1952: Colonel of the Regiment of the Canadian Grenadier Guards
• 28 August 1946 – 16 June 1969: Colonel of the Irish Guards
• 10 November 1949 – n/a: Colonel of the Royal Ulster Rifles (London Irish Rifles)
• 10 July 1951 – n/a: Colonel of the Oxford University Contingent of the University Training Corps

Honorary degrees

• : Harvard University, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
• : Princeton University, Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Honorific eponyms

Schools

• Manitoba: École Viscount Alexander, Winnipeg
• Ontario: Viscount Alexander Public School, Ottawa

Arms

Coat of arms of Harold Alexander, 1st 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

• Alexander, Harold (3 February 1948). "The African Campaign from El Alamein to Tunis, from 10 August 1942 to 13 May 1943". London Gazette ((Supplement) 38196). London: King's Printer: 839–887. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
• Alexander, Harold (10 February 1948). "Conquest of Sicily 10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943". London Gazette ((Supplement) 38205). London: King's Printer: 1009–1025. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
• Alexander, Harold (6 June 1950). "The Allied Armies in Italy, from 3 September 1943 to 12 December 1944". London Gazette ((Supplement) 38937). London: King's Printer: 2879–2975. Retrieved 22 March 2009.

See also

• List of World War I battles
• List of World War II battles
• Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II

References

• Bradley, Omar N. (1951). A Soldier's Story. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-8371-7924-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Graham, Dominick; Bidwell, Shelford (1986). Tug of War: the Battle for Italy 1943-5. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 1-84415-098-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• 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. {{cite book}}: |editor-first= missing |editor-last= (help); Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
• Keegan (ed), John (1991). Churchill's Generals. London: Cassell Military. ISBN 0-304-36712-5. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud: Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn R.N., Captain F.C.; Davies, Major-General H.L.; Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1973]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-069-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
• Playfair, I.S.O.; Flynn, F.C.; Molony, C.J.C.; Gleave, T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1960]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume III: British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb (September 1941 to September 1942). History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-067-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
• Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; and Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn R.N., Captain F.C.; Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1966]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume IV: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-068-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
• Wilson, John S. (1959). Scouting Round the World (1st ed.). Poole: Blandford Press. OCLC 58863729.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Alexander of Tunis

• Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Harold Alexander
• The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Harold Alexander