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Wavell, Archibald Percival, 1st Earl Wavell

Date of birth:
May 5th, 1883 (Colchester/Essex, England)
Date of death:
May 24th, 1950 (London, England)
Nationality:
British (1801-present, Kingdom)

Biography

Promotions:
1921: Colonel;
1933: Major General;
1938: Lieutenant General;
?: General;
January 1943: Field Marshall.

Career:
?: Winchester College;
?: Royal Military College, Sandhurst;
?: British Staff College;
1901: 42nd Highland Regiment (Black Watch);
1914: British Expeditionary Force, BEF;
October 1916: Military Attaché, Russian Army, Caucasus;
1917: Egyptian Expeditionary Army;
1918-1919: XX Corps, Palestine;
1919-1920: Egyptian Expeditionary Army;
1930-1934: Commander, 6th Infantry Brigade;
1935: Commander, 2nd Division;
1937: Commander Palestine;
1939: Commanding Officer Middle East;
1941: comanding Officer India;
January 1942: Commanding Officer ABDA-Command;
?: Vice-King in India.

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Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Brigade Major
Unit:
9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division, British Army
Awarded on:
June 3rd, 1915
Wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres of 1915, losing his left eye.
Military Cross (MC)
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Brigade Major
Unit:
9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division, British Army
Awarded on:
June 22nd, 1915
Mentioned in Dispatches
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Major
Awarded on:
September 12th, 1916

With swords
--
General Staff Officer, 2nd grade (GSO2)
Order of St. Stanislaus III class
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit:
Kavkazskaya armiya, Rússkaya imperátorskaya ármiya (Russian Army in the Caucasus, Russian Army)
Awarded on:
January 4th, 1917
Mentioned in Dispatches
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit:
Kavkazskaya armiya, Rússkaya imperátorskaya ármiya (Caucasus Army, Russian Imperial Army)
Awarded on:
1917
As Military Attache.

Temporary General Staff Officer, 1st grade (GSO1)
Order of St. Vladimir 4th Class
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Brigadier
Unit:
General Staff (BGGS), Headquarters, XX Corps, British Army
Awarded on:
January 1st, 1919
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Brigadier
Unit:
General Staff (BGGS), Headquarters, Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), British Army
Awarded on:
January 22nd, 1919
Mentioned in Dispatches
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Brigadier
Awarded on:
May 4th, 1920
Croix de Guerre (1914-1918)
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Temporary Brigadier
Awarded on:
May 7th, 1920
Commandeur de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur
Rank:
Major-General
Awarded on:
January 1st, 1935
Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)
Rank:
Lieutenant-general
Unit:
Headquarters, Southern Command, British Army
Awarded on:
January 2nd, 1939

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB/DCB)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
General
Unit:
Headquarters, Middle East Command, British Army
Awarded on:
March 4th, 1941

Commander-in-Chief
Grand Cross of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
General
Unit:
Headquarters, Middle East Command, British Army
Awarded on:
May 9th, 1941
Basilikon Tagma toy Georgioya A - Grand Cross
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
General
Unit:
Headquarters, Middle East Command, British Army
Awarded on:
September 23rd, 1941
Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari - Krzyz Srebrny
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
General
Unit:
Headquarters, India Command, British Indian Army
Awarded on:
April 10th, 1942
Polemikos Stauros 1940 - 1st Class
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
General
Unit:
Headquarters, India Command, British Indian Army
Awarded on:
May 5th, 1942
Commander to the Order of Solomon's seal
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
Headquarters, India Command, British Indian Army
Awarded on:
January 15th, 1943

Commander-in-Chief
Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje Nassau (ON.1)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
Headquarters, India Command, British Indian Army
Awarded on:
July 23rd, 1943

Commander-in-Chief
Ceskoslovenský válecný kríž 1939
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
India Office, British Government
Awarded on:
September 18th, 1943

As Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Grand Commander of the Star of India (GCSI)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
India Office, British Government
Awarded on:
September 18th, 1943

As Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Grand Commander of the Indian Empire (GCIE)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
India Office, British Government
Awarded on:
January 4th, 1944

As Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Knight/Dame to the Venerable Order of Saint John (KStJ/DStJ)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
India Office, British Government
Awarded on:
July 23rd, 1948
"His Excellent Field Marshal The Right Honourable Viscount Wavell of Cyrenaica and Winchester, C.C.G. G.M.S.I., G.M.I.E., C.M.G., M.C., performed outstanding service as Viceroy of India during the period 20 October 1943 to 17 May 1945. The loss of Burma in 1942 imposed upon the allies the urgent necessity for building up India as a base for future offensive operations against the Japanese in southeastern Asia and in China. The largest share of this preparatory work fell upon the Government of India. Upon assumption of Office as Viceroy in October 1943, Lord Wavell directed his energies to his important task with remarkable success. The accommodation of large armies and the mobilization of Indian resources for war created financial, economic, political and constitutional problems of peculiar difficulty. Lord Wavell's determination to render the necessary assistance to American forces contributed greatly to the successful performance of its mission by Unites States Forces, India-Burma Theater. In so doing, he substantially increased the combined war effort in this theater and laid the foundation for offensive operations in South East Asia Command and China."

As Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Legion of Merit - Chief Commander (LoM - CC)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Field Marshal
Unit:
India Office, British Government

As Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Order of the Cloud and Banner with Special Grand Cordon (1st Class)
India General Service Medal (1909 IGSM)
General Service Medal 1918-1962
King George V's Silver Jubilee Medal 1935
King Edward VII Coronation Medal

Sources

  • Photo 1: United Kingdom Government public domain
  • - The London Gazette, issue 35094, dated 4th March 1941
    - The 2nd Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 35157, dated 9th May 1941
    - The 3rd Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 35282, dated 23rd September 1941
    - The 4th Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 35519, dated 10th April 1942
    - The 2nd Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 35546, dated 5th May 1942
    - The 2nd Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 35863, dated 15th January 1943
    - The 2nd Supplement to the London Gazette, issue 36103, dated 23rd July 1943
    - Recommendation for Award for The Right Honourable Viscount Wavell Rank: Field... | The National Archives