Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl Cathcart
The Earl Cathcart | |
---|---|
Born | 22 August 1919 |
Died | 15 June 1999 | (aged 79)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | British Army |
Years of service | 1939–1973 |
Rank | Major General |
Commands | British Forces in Berlin (1970–73) Yorkshire District (1969–70) 152nd Infantry Brigade (1965–66) 1st Battalion Scots Guards (1957–59) |
Battles / wars | Second World War |
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches Knight of the Order of St. John |
Major General Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl Cathcart CB, DSO, MC, KStJ (22 August 1919 – 15 June 1999), styled Lord Greenock until 1927, was a British Army officer who served as Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from 1970 until his retirement in 1973.
Military career
The only child of George Cathcart, 5th Earl Cathcart and Vera, Countess Cathcart, Alan was educated at Eton College and Magdelene College, Cambridge,[1] Cathcart was commissioned into the Scots Guards in 1939.[2]
He served in the Second World War and went on to be Adjutant at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst after the war.[3] He was made Adjutant of the Scots Guards in 1951 and Brigade Major for 4th Guards Brigade in 1954.[3] He then went on to be Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Scots Guards in 1957.[3]
He was posted to Scottish Command in 1962 and became Commander of 152nd Infantry Brigade in 1965.[3] He next transferred to the Operations Division of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in 1967 and then became General Officer Commanding Yorkshire District in 1969.[3] Finally he was appointed Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1970: he retired in 1973.[3]
In retirement from the British Army he became a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.[3]
Family
In 1946 he married Rosemary Clare Marie Gabrielle Smyth-Osborne: they went on to have one son and two daughters.[1] Following the death of his first wife, he married Marie Isobel Weldon in 1984.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Debrett's People of Today 1994
- ^ "No. 34745". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 December 1939. p. 8088.
- ^ a b c d e f g Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
External links
- 1919 births
- 1999 deaths
- People educated at Eton College
- Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- British Army major generals
- Scots Guards officers
- British Army personnel of World War II
- Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom