Godwin Michelmore

Major General Sir William Godwin Michelmore, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, TD, JP, DL (14 March 1894 – 25 October 1982) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars and was later aide-de-camp to King George VI and Lord Mayor of Exeter.

Sir Godwin Michelmore
Born	14 March 1894 Exeter, Devon, England
Died	25 October 1982 (aged 88)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Territorial Army
Rank	Major General
Commands held	43rd (Wessex) Divisional Signals (1920–29) 134th Infantry Brigade (1939–41) Devon and Cornwall County Division (1941) 77th Infantry Division (1941–44) 45th Holding Division (1944–45)
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Territorial Decoration Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Other work	Lord Mayor of Exeter (1949–50)

Early life and military career

Godwin Michelmore was born in Exeter, Devon, and educated at Rugby School. During the First World War, Michelmore was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the British Army's Royal Engineers and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele, where he was wounded. By the end of the war, Michelmore had been promoted to acting major and had been awarded the Military Cross (MC) and had been twice mentioned in despatches.[1]

From 1920 to 1929 he commanded the Exeter-based 43rd (Wessex) Divisional Signals in the Territorial Army (TA), first as a Major, then as Lieutenant-Colonel.[2][3]

At the beginning of the Second World War, Michelmore commanded 134th Infantry Brigade, a second-line TA brigade raised in Devon. From 30 October 1941 to the end of the war he commanded the Devon and Cornwall County Division (later re-designated successively as the 77th Infantry Division, 77th Infantry (Reserve) Division, 77th Holding Division, and finally the 45th Holding Division).[4] Michelmore also served as Aide-de-camp (ADC) to King George VI between 1942 and 1947.[5]

In retirement he served as Lord Mayor of Exeter from 1949 to 1950.[6]

Michelmore was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945[5] and created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1953.[7]

In early 1971 he married Winsome Montgomery, one of Bernard Montgomery's sisters.[8]

References

1. Smart, p. 216
2. Monthly Army List, various dates.
3. Nalder, p. 597.
4. Joslen, pp. 73, 100, 108, 320.
5. "No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 4.
6. "Eight Hundred Years of Exeter's Mayors and Lord Mayors". Exeter Memories. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
7. "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2953.
8. Montgomery, p. 357.

Sources

• Obituary of Major-Gen Sir G. Michelmore, The Times, Saturday, 30 October 1982 (pg. 10; Issue 61376; col F)
• 1911 UK census
• Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945, London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6
• Montgomery, Brian (22 November 2010). A Field Marshal in the Family. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781848844254.
• Maj-Gen R.F.H. Nalder, The Royal Corps of Signals: A History of its Antecedents and Developments (Circa 1800–1955), London: Royal Signals Institution, 1958.
• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.