John Harold Owen Wilsey

John Wilsey
Born	1904
Died	20 July 1961 St. Saviour, Jersey
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1936–1956
Rank	Major-General
Unit	Dorsetshire Regiment Worcestershire Regiment
Commands held	9th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment 7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment 5th Infantry Brigade 2nd Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order

Major-General John Harold Owen Wilsey CB CBE DSO (1904 – 20 July 1961) was a senior British Army officer who fought in World War II and commanded the 2nd Division.

Military career

Wilsey was educated at Haileybury and later attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,^[1] where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the British Army's Dorset Regiment and then transferred into the Worcestershire Regiment in 1936.^[2]

He served in the Second World War as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 9th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment in Northern Ireland and Southeast England and then as CO of the 7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 before taking command of 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division for the campaign in North West Europe.^[2]

After the war he took command of the 5th Infantry Brigade in 1949, became Director of Infantry in 1951 and Director of Staff Duties at the War Office in 1953.^[2] His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2nd Division from 1954 before retiring from the army in 1956.^[3]

In retirement he lived at Maufant Manor in St. Saviour on Jersey.^[2]

References