George Richards (British Army officer)

Major-General George Warren Richards CB, CBE, DSO, MC (1898–1978) was a British Army officer.

George Richards
Born	1898
Died	1978
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division 49th (West Riding) Armoured Division
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross

Military career

Richards was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers on 16 August 1916.[1] He saw action at the Battle of Aleppo in October 1918 in the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War.[2]

He became commanding officer of the 49th Royal Tank Regiment at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire in August 1940 and, after being deployed to North Africa as commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in April 1942, saw action at the Battle of Gazala in May 1942.[2] He then became Commander of the 1st Army Tank Brigade in July 1942 and took part in the First Battle of Alamein later that month.[2] After that he became commander of 23rd Armoured Brigade in August 1942 and commanded his brigade at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.[2] He then became Major-General Royal Armoured Corps for 21st Army Group in 1944 and took part in the Normandy landings and the advance into North West Europe.[2]

After the war he became General Officer Commanding the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division in June 1946 and General Officer Commanding 49th (West Riding) Armoured Division in January 1947 before retiring in December 1948.[3][4]

References

1. "No. 29708". The London Gazette. 15 August 1916. p. 8028.
2. "Private papers of Major-General G. W. Richards CB, CBE, DSO, MC". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
3. "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2020.
4. "Richards, George Warren". Generals.dk. Retrieved 10 June 2020.