Alexander Gatehouse
Alexander Gatehouse | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Alec" |
| Born | 20 May 1895 |
| Died | 21 August 1964 (aged 69) Sweden |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1947 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Service number | 5979 |
| Unit | Northumberland Fusiliers Royal Tank Corps |
| Commands | Mechanisation Experimental Establishment 4th Royal Tank Regiment 4th Armoured Brigade 10th Armoured Division 1st Armoured Division |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order & bar Military Cross |
Major-General Alexander Hugh Gatehouse DSO & bar MC (20 May 1895 – 21 August 1964) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 10th Armoured Division during the North African Campaign of World War II.
Military career
He joined the British Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1914 and fought in World War I.[1]
After the war he transferred to the Royal Tank Corps (later the Royal Tank Regiment) in 1931.[1] He was appointed commandant of the Mechanisation Experimental Establishment at Farnborough in 1933.[1]
He served in World War II as deputy commander of the 7th Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert from 1940, as commander of the 4th Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert from April 1941 and as General Officer Commanding 10th Armoured Division from June 1942.[1][2] His permanent rank was advanced to colonel on 6 November 1940, with seniority backdated to 1 July 1940.[3] Having led the 10th Armoured Division at the Battle of Alam el Halfa in September 1942 and then the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942[4] he became major-general in charge of administration at Washington D. C. at the end of the year, and military attaché in Moscow in 1944 before retiring in 1947.[1]
Family
In 1920 he married Helen Williams;[5] they had one son (Sir Robert Alexander Gatehouse, a Judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court).[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ Generals.dk
- ^ "No. 35021". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7203.
- ^ "The 8th Army at El Alamein, October 1942". Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ Heraldry on line
- ^ Obituary: Sir Robert Gatehouse The Telegraph, 8 November 2002
Bibliography
- 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) - Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- 1895 births
- 1964 deaths
- British Army personnel of World War I
- British Army generals of World War II
- Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers
- Royal Tank Regiment officers
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst