| Vyvyan Evelegh | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Santa Claus |
| Born | 1898 |
| Died | 1958 (aged 59–60) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1918-1950 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands held |
78th Infantry Division 6th Armoured Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh CB OBE DSO (1898–1958) was a British army officer during World War II.
Miitary career
Evelegh was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1918, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 November.[1] He was promoted to captain on 8 July 1927,[2] appointed brigade major of the 130th Devon and Cornwall Infantry Brigade on 1 April 1935,[3] appointed brigade major of the 6th Infantry Brigade on 23 May 1937 and seconded to the staff.[4] He was brevetted to major on 1 July and promoted to the substantive rank of major on 14 October.[5][6]
Brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1939,[7] Evelegh relinquished his appointment as brigade major on 16 April[8] and was appointed a GSO 2nd Grade on 3 July.[9] On the outbreak of war, he was promoted to war substantive lieutenant-colonel. He was appointed an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1940, and was promoted to brigadier and appointed Commander of 11th Infantry Brigade in 1941. He was promoted to colonel on 18 May 1942 (seniority 1 January).[10] On 13 June, he was promoted to the acting rank of major-general and appointed Assistant Commandant at the Staff College, Camberley.[11][12] Promoted to temporary major-general on 13 June 1943,[13] he commanded 78th Infantry Division until December 1943, when he swapped commands with Charles Keightley, commander of 6th Armoured Division.[11] He continued his war service as Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1944 to 1945.[11]
After the war, he was promoted to the substantive rank of major-general on 29 December 1946 (seniority 19 July 1944)[14] He became General Officer Commanding North-West District and then General Officer Commanding 42nd Division before retiring on 13 November 1950.[11][15]
He was colonel of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry from 1953 to 1958.[16]
References
- ↑ The London Gazette, 6 December 1918
- ↑ The London Gazette, 16 August 1927
- ↑ The London Gazette, 9 April 1935
- ↑ The London Gazette, 1 June 1937
- ↑ The London Gazette, 2 July 1937
- ↑ The London Gazette, 19 November 1937
- ↑ The London Gazette, 3 January 1939
- ↑ The London Gazette, 18 April 1939
- ↑ The London Gazette, 1 August 1939
- ↑ The London Gazette, 5 June 1942
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Generals.dk
- ↑ The London Gazette, 17 July 1942
- ↑ The London Gazette, 29 June 1943
- ↑ The London Gazette, 10 January 1947
- ↑ The London Gazette, 14 November 1950
- ↑ Light Infantry
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Keightley |
GOC 6th Armoured Division December 1943–July 1944 |
Succeeded by Gerald Templer |
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
