William Pike (British Army officer)

Sir William Pike
Born	(1905-06-24)24 June 1905 Scarborough, Yorkshire
Died	10 March 1993(1993-03-10) (aged 87) Alton, Hampshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1925-1963
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War Suez Crisis
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant General Sir William Gregory Huddleston Pike KCB CBE DSO (24 June 1905 – 10 March 1993) was a British Army officer who became Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

Military career

Pike entered Bedford School in 1914 and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1925.^[1] He served with the Indian Army until 1936^[1] and fought in World War II taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation^[2] and commanding the 77th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery during the landings in Morocco and Algeria in March 1943.^[2] He later served in the Korean War as Divisional Commander, Royal Artillery for 1st Commonwealth Division.^[1] He was appointed Director of Staff Duties at the War Office in 1954 - a post he held during the Suez Crisis,^[3] Chief of Staff for Far East Land Forces in 1957 and Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1960^[4] before retiring in 1963.^[1] He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1962 to 1970.^[1]

Family

He married Josie Tompson; their son is Lieutenant General Sir Hew Pike.^[2] His brother was Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike.

References