Basil Alexander Hill

Sir Basil Hill

Birth name	Basil Alexander Hill
Date of birth	23 April 1880
Place of birth	Broughty Ferry, Scotland
Date of death	31 July 1960(1960-07-31) (aged 80)
Place of death	Coupar Angus, Scotland
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) Blackheath () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1903-1907 England 9 (Pts:10; Tries:0; Conv:5; Pens:0; Drop:0)

Major General Sir Basil Alexander Hill, KBE, CB, DSO, JP (23 April 1880 – 31 July 1960) was a British Army officer and rugby union international who represented England from 1903 to 1907. He also captained his country.

Early life

Hill was born on 23 April 1880 in Broughty Ferry.

Rugby union career

Hill made his international debut on 14 February 1903 at Lansdowne Road in the Ireland vs England match. Of the 9 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 2 occasions. He played his final match for England on 12 January 1907 at St Helen's, Swansea in the Wales vs England match.

Military career

Hill was commissioned into the Royal Marine Artillery as a second lieutenant in 1897, and promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1898. He transferred to the Army Ordnance Department in 1908, and eventually retired as a major-general.

He served with the Royal Marine Artillery during the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914 and later at Gallipoli, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches. He later took part in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, and was twice mentioned in despatches. For his service in the Great War, he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 1 January 1917 and was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel.

He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1937, and knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1941. He was Colonel Commandant, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1942–1947. He was a justice of the peace (JP) for Kent.

Hill died on 31 July 1960

Bibliography

• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 1844150496.

External links

• Generals of World War II