James Bowes-Lyon
Sir James Bowes-Lyon | |
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Born | (1917-09-19)19 September 1917 Chelsea, London, England |
Died | 18 December 1977(1977-12-18) (aged 60) Northumberland, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1938–1973 |
Rank | Major General |
Service number | 74591 |
Unit | Grenadier Guards |
Commands | London District Household Division British Forces in Berlin 52nd Lowland Division District 157th Lowland Brigade 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross & Bar |
Major General Sir Francis James Cecil Bowes-Lyon, KCVO, CB, OBE, MC & Bar (19 September 1917 – 18 December 1977) was a senior British Army officer who served as commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from 1968 to 1970.[1]
Early life and education
Bowes-Lyon was born in Chelsea, London, the son of Captain Geoffrey Francis Bowes-Lyon, grandson of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Frances Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He was thus a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. His mother was Edith Katherine Selby-Bigge, daughter of Sir Amherst Selby-Bigge, 1st Baronet.[2] He was educated at Eton College and Sandhurst.[1]
Military career
Bowes-Lyon was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in 1938,[3] and served in the Guards Armoured Division during the Second World War.[3] In 1955 he became commandant at the Guards Depot and in 1957 he was made commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards.[3] He was appointed Military Assistant to Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, in 1960 and commander of the 157th Lowland Brigade in 1963.[3]
Bowes-Lyon went on to be General Officer Commanding 52nd Lowland Division District in 1966 and commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1968.[3] In 1971 he was appointed Major-General commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District.[3] He retired in 1973.[3]
Personal life
Bowes-Lyon married Mary de Trafford, daughter of Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 4th Baronet. The couple had three children, two sons, John[4] and David, and a daughter, Fiona. The family lived at Sennicotts in West Sussex.[5] He was a Gentleman Usher to the Royal Household.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Obituary: Maj-Gen Sir James Bowes-Lyon". The Times. 22 December 1977. p. 12.
- ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Bowes-Lyon, Sir Francis James Cecil". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Royals mourning another death in family days after Queen Elizabeth's death". The News. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "History". Sennicotts. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "No. 46197". The London Gazette. 1 February 1974. p. 1395.
Military offices | ||
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Preceded by | GOC 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 1966–1968 | Post disbanded |
Preceded by Sir John Nelson | Commandant, British Sector in Berlin 1968–1970 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | GOC London District 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Floyd L. Parks (1945)
- James M. Gavin (1945)
- Ray W. Barker (1945–46)
- Frank A. Keating (1946–47)
- Cornelius E. Ryan (1947)
- William Hesketh (1947)
- Frank L. Howley (1947–49)
- Maxwell D. Taylor (1949–51)
- Lemuel Mathewson (1951–53)
- Thomas S. Timberman (1953–54)
- George B. Honnen (1954–55)
- Charles L. Dasher (1955–57)
- Barksdale Hamlett (1957–59)
- Ralph Osborne (1959–61)
- Albert Watson II (1961–63)
- James H. Polk (1963–64)
- John F. Franklin, Jr. (1964–67)
- Robert G. Fergusson (1967–70)
- George M. Seignious (1970–71)
- William W. Cobb (1971–74)
- Sam S. Walker (1974–75)
- Joseph C. McDonough (1975–78)
- Calvert P. Benedict (1978–81)
- James G. Boatner (1981–84)
- John H. Mitchell (1984–88)
- Raymond E. Haddock (1988–90)
![The occupied sectors of Berlin](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Allied_occupation_in_Berlin_%281945-1990%29.png/100px-Allied_occupation_in_Berlin_%281945-1990%29.png)
- Lewis Lyne (1945)
- Eric Nares (1945–47)
- Otway Herbert (1947–49)
- Geoffrey Bourne (1949–51)
- Charles Coleman (1951–54)
- William Oliver (1954–55)
- Robert Cottrell-Hill (1955–56)
- Francis Rome (1956–59)
- Rohan Delacombe (1959–62)
- Claude Dunbar (1962)
- David Peel Yates (1962–66)
- John Nelson (1966–68)
- James Bowes-Lyon (1968–70)
- Lord Cathcart (1970–73)
- David Scott-Barrett (1973–75)
- Roy Redgrave (1975–78)
- Robert Richardson (1978–80)
- David Mostyn (1980–83)
- Bernard Gordon Lennox (1983–85)
- Patrick Brooking (1985–89)
- Robert Corbett (1989–90)
- Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne (1945–46)
- Charles Lançon (1946)
- Jean Ganeval [fr] (1946–50)
- Pierre Carolet (1950–52)
- Pierre Manceaux-Démiau (1953–54)
- Amédée J.B. Gèze (1955–58)
- Jean Lacomme (1958–62)
- Edouard K. Toulouse (1962–64)
- François Binoche [fr] (1964–67)
- Bertrand Huchet de Quénétain [fr] (1967–70)
- Maurice Routier (1970–73)
- Camille Metzler (1973–75)
- Jacques Mangin (1975–77)
- Bernard d'Astorg [fr] (1977–80)
- Jean P. Liron (1980–84)
- Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory (1984–85)
- Paul Cavarrot (1985–87)
- François Cann [fr] (1987–90)
Soviet Commandants |
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East German Commandants |
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- ‡ Commandant of the entire city; appointed during the Battle of Berlin
- § Commandant of the entire city until July 1945