William Holmes (British Army officer)

Sir William Holmes
Lt. General W. G. Holmes, GOC 9th Army, stands on a Sherman II tank of the Wiltshire Yeomanry, 5 April 1943
Born	1892
Died	1969 (aged 76 or 77)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1911 - 1945
Rank	General
Unit	Royal Welch Fusiliers
Commands held	2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment 8th Infantry Brigade 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division X Corps British Troops in Egypt Ninth Army
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar

Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes KBE CB DSO and Bar (1892–1969) was a British Army officer of the Second World War.

Early life

Holmes was educated at Gresham's School, Holt,^[1] and the Royal Military Academy.

Military career

Holmes was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1911 and served throughout the Great War, during which he was mentioned in despatches four times and received the DSO and bar, and the Italian silver medal for valour.^[2] In 1921 he served in Waziristan.^[2]

In 1933 Holmes became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.^[2] Promoted to colonel the same year, he was given a general staff position in the Northern Command in 1934 and given command of the 8th Infantry Brigade, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, in 1935.^[2] In 1937, he became the British Army's youngest major-general,^[1] and in 1938 got his first divisional command, the Territorial Army 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division.^[2] Holmes commanded the 42nd Division in France in 1940 with the British Expeditionary Force.^[2]

Following the fall of France and the retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk, Holmes was promoted to lieutenant-general and given command of the newly formed X Corps in Syria and North Africa in June 1940.^[3]

In November 1941 Holmes became General Officer Commanding the British Troops in Egypt, in addition to his responsibilities as commander of X Corps. In August 1942 he became General-Director of Transportation at the War Office.^[3] Holmes's last command was the Ninth Army, based in Palestine and Transjordan, a command he held from September 1942 until his retirement in 1945.^[3]

Honours

• 1917: Distinguished Service Order^[2]
• 1918: Silver Medal of Military Valour (Italy)^[2]
• 1938: Companion of the Order of the Bath^[2]
• 1944: Order of the Phoenix, Class II (Greece)^[2]
• 1944: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire^[2]
• 1945: Order of Polonia Restituta, Class II (Poland)^[2]

References