Arthur Dowler

Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Arnhold Bullick Dowler KCB KBE DL (16 July 1895 – 14 November 1963) was a senior British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding (GOC) East Africa Command.

Sir Arthur Dowler
Born	16 July 1895 New York City, New York, United States
Died	14 November 1963 (aged 68) Bletchingley, Surrey, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1954
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Service number	8634
Unit	East Surrey Regiment
Commands held	1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment 2nd Infantry Brigade 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division East Africa Command
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Plaque to Dowler in All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames

Military career

Educated at Tonbridge School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[1] Dowler was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the East Surrey Regiment in 1914.[2] He served in the First World War with the 2nd Battalion, East Surreys in France and Belgium.[2]

Attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1931 to 1932, alongside Brian Horrocks, Sidney Kirkman, Cameron Nicholson and Thomas Rees,[3] Dowler also saw active service in the Second World War, initially in 1939 as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment and then as a General Staff Officer (GSO) with the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.[2] In 1940 he was promoted to Brigadier and served on the General Staff of V Corps and, promoted on 1 October 1940 to colonel,[4] subsequently commanded the 2nd Infantry Brigade.[2] He was involved in the Narvik expedition in 1940, part of the Norwegian Campaign.[1] In 1942 he was made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then Major-General in charge of Administration of Southern Command.[2] He was put in charge of Administration for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) in 1944.[2]

After the war he was appointed Chief of Staff of the British Army of the Rhine, before becoming Director of Infantry at the War Office in 1947.[2] He was GOC East Africa Command from 1948 to 1951 and subsequently Colonel of the East Surrey Regiment until his resignation in 1954.[2][5] In May 1958 he became Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey.[6]

References

1. Queen's Royal Surreys
2. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
3. Smart, p. 90
4. "No. 35021". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7203.
5. "No. 40221". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 February 1954. p. 3882.
6. "The East Surrey Regiment, formerly the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment and 70th (Surrey) Regiment: personal papers of the members of the regiment, 1794-2007" (PDF). Surrey County Council. Retrieved 1 April 2018.

Bibliography

• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

External links

• Generals of World War II