William Stratton (British Army officer)
Lieutenant General Sir William Henry Stratton KCB, CVO, CBE, DSO (15 October 1903 – 25 November 1989) was a senior British Army officer who was Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong from 1955 to 1957.
Sir William Stratton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 October 1903 Madras, British India |
| Died | 25 November 1989 (aged 86) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Royal Engineers |
| Commands held | Commander British Forces in Hong Kong 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division 169th Infantry Brigade |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Military career
Stratton was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1924.[1] He was deployed to the Gold Coast before becoming Assistant Instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering in 1933.[1]
He served in the Second World War as a brigadier on the General Staff of General Headquarters Home Forces and then of the General Staff of the 8th Army in Italy.[1] In 1944 he was appointed Commander of 169th Infantry Brigade.[1]
After the war he was appointed Chief of Staff at British Army of the Rhine, a post he held until 1949 when he became Commandant of the Joint Services Staff College.[1] In 1952 he became Head of the British Army Staff in Washington, D.C.[1] He went on to be General Officer Commanding 42nd (Lancashire) Division in 1953 and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong in 1955.[1] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1957 New Year Honours.[2] His last post was Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1957; he retired in 1960.[1]
He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers from 1960 to 1968.[1]
References
- "Sir William Henry Stratton". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "No. 40960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1956. p. 3.
External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Valentine Blomfield |
GOC 42nd (Lancashire) Division 1953−1955 |
Succeeded by Thomas Scott |
| Preceded by Sir Cecil Sugden |
Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong 1955–1957 |
Succeeded by Sir Edric Bastyan |
| Preceded by Sir William Oliver |
Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1957–1960 |
Succeeded by Sir William Pike |