William Bartholomew (British Army officer)

General Sir William Henry Bartholomew, GCB, CMG, DSO (16 March 1877 – 31 December 1962) was a senior British Army officer during the 1930s and a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery.

Sir William Bartholomew
Nickname(s)	"Barty"
Born	16 March 1877 Wiltshire, England[1]
Died	31 December 1962 (aged 85) Wiltshire, England[1]
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1897–1940
Rank	General
Unit	Royal Artillery
Commands held	Northern Command (1937–40) Chief of the General Staff, India (1934–37) Imperial Defence College (1929–31) 6th Infantry Brigade (1923–27)
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches

Military career

Educated at Newton College, South Devon and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Bartholomew was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1897.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 23 March 1900, and to captain on 22 March 1902.[3] He attended the Staff College, Quetta from 1909 to 1910.[1]

Bartholomew served in the First World War initially as a General Staff Officer in 4th Division, and then as a brigadier general on the General Staff of XX Corps from 1917 and on the General Staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from 1918.[2][1]

After the war Bartholomew commanded the 6th Infantry Brigade from 1923 moving on to be Director of Recruiting and Organisation at the War Office in 1927.[2] He was appointed Commandant of the Imperial Defence College in 1929 and Director of Military Operations and Intelligence at the War Office in 1931.[2] He became Chief of the General Staff in India in 1934 and then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Northern Command in 1937; he retired in 1940 during the Second World War.[2][1]

Bartholomew was made an Aide de Camp General to the King from 1938 to 1940 and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1934 to 1937.[2][1]

After the Army

In retirement, Bartholomew served as North Eastern Regional Commissioner for Civil Defence between 1940 and 1945.[2] He lived at Claxton Hall near York.[4] He donated over £20,000 in 1921 to the Public Dispensary and Hospital, Leeds; later becoming world-renowned St James' Teaching Hospital.

References

1. Smart, p. 23
2. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
3. "No. 27431". The London Gazette. 6 May 1902. p. 3013.
4. Claxton Hall

Bibliography

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

External links

• British Army Officers 1939–1945
• Final Report Of The Bartholomew Committee On Lessons To Be Learnt From The Operations In Flanders
• Generals of World War II