William Rous (British Army officer)
William Rous | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Edward Rous |
| Born | 23 February 1939 North Walsham, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 25 May 1999 (aged 60) Chichester, West Sussex, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1959–1996 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | 4th Armoured Division Staff College, Camberley |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
Lieutenant General Sir William Edward Rous KCB, OBE (23 February 1939 – 25 May 1999) was a British Army officer who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces.
Early life and education
Rous was the second son of Hon. Keith Rous and Pamela Catherine Mabell Kay-Shuttleworth,[1] only daughter of Capt. Hon. Edward James Kay-Shuttleworth (1890–1917). His mother was the granddaughter of Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baron Shuttleworth and sister of the 4th Baron.[2]
He had an elder brother, Keith Rous, later the 6th Earl of Stradbroke.[2]
His parents divorced in 1940. His father remarried, in 1943, to April Mary Asquith, daughter of Brig-Gen. Hon. Arthur Asquith, and had one more son and four daughters. He was educated at Harrow School and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[1]
In 1983, his father succeeded his elder brother, John Rous, 4th Earl of Stradbroke, as the 5th Earl of Stradbroke but lived only four days as earl (14 July 1983 – 18 July 1983) before his own death.[1]
Military career
Rous was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1959.[3]
He was appointed General Officer Commanding 4th Armoured Division in 1987[4] and then selected to be Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley in 1989.[5]
In 1991, he was appointed Military Secretary[6] and in 1994 he went on to be Quartermaster-General to the Forces.[7] He retired in 1996.[8]
He was also Colonel of the Coldstream Guards.[9]
Personal life
In 1970, Rous married Rosemary Persse, only child of Maj. Jocelyn Arthur Persse, and Joan Shirley (later Lady Carew Pole). They had two sons: James Anthony Edward (born 1972) and Richard William Jocelyn (born 1975).[1]
In 1998, he was appointed as Chairman of the British Greyhound Racing Board but resigned in 1999 following ill health.[10]
In retirement, he was Chairman of Kingston Hospital. He died of cancer in May 1999 and the cancer unit at the hospital is named after him.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3766. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- ^ a b Mosley 2003, p. 3616
- ^ "No. 41826". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 September 1959. p. 6045.
- ^ "No. 51136". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 December 1987. p. 14774.
- ^ "No. 51969". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 December 1989. p. 14616.
- ^ "No. 52691". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 October 1991. p. 16043.
- ^ "No. 53652". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 April 1994. p. 6156.
- ^ "No. 54453". The London Gazette. 1 July 1996. p. 8911.
- ^ "No. 53587". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 February 1994. p. 2316.
- ^ "Hill-Norton quits BGRB post". Racing Post. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Kingston Cancer Unit
- 1939 births
- 1999 deaths
- Military personnel from Norfolk
- People educated at Harrow School
- Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- British Army lieutenant generals
- Coldstream Guards officers
- Younger sons of earls
- Deaths from cancer in England
- Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley
- People in greyhound racing
- 20th-century British Army personnel