Alexander Galloway
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Galloway KBE
, CB
, DSO
, MC
(born 1895; died 1977) was an officer in the British Army during World War I
and World War II
. He was particularly highly regarded as a staff officer and as such had an influential role in the outcome of Operation Crusader
in 1941.
but was then posted as a 2nd lieutenant on 8 October 1914 to the 4th battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers, a territorial unit. He saw action in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine and the Western Front and was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 having gained a regular commission in 1917 in which year he also returned to the Scottish Rifles. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 1915 and captain in July 1917.
Between the world wars Galloway had a number of regimental and staff jobs including appointments as Staff Captain at HQ Cairo in February 1930 and also as Brigade Major of the Canal Brigade in Egypt from February 1932. He attended the Staff College, Camberley
for a year from January 1928 where he also spent a period from February 1937- July 1938 as an instructor. He was promoted to major in December 1933 (having previously been made brevet major) and was made brevet lieutenant-colonel in January 1935. His promotion to lieutenant-colonel came on completing his period instructing at the Staff College in 1938.
in Palestine. In August he was appointed chief staff officer (BGS - Brigadier General Staff) to Lieutenant-General Henry Maitland Wilson's HQ British Troops Egypt. Wilson lent Galloway to Richard O'Connor
, commander of the Western Desert Force
to help in the planning of Operation Compass
. His substantive rank was advanced to full colonel in December 1940.
In early 1941, still Wilson's BGS, Galloway traveled to Greece (with a pause in Crete where between 19 February and 7 March he assumed temporary command of forces on the island) where Wilson was to assume command of 'W Force', the Commonwealth Expeditionary force which arrived during March and April. Overwhelmed by superior German forces in the Battle of Greece
, the expeditionary force was forced to evacuate the Greek mainland by the end of April and Galloway returned to Cairo to take command of 23rd Infantry Brigade which was in the process of reforming.
Although sent as part of 6th Infantry Division to reinforce Australian I Corps fighting in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign
, the brigade saw no action and by September Galloway was back in Cairo to take up the appointment as BGS to Alan Cunningham, the commander of the newly-formed Eighth Army
. On 23 November, during Operation Crusader
, learning that the British armour had been heavily defeated by the tanks of Erwin Rommel
's Africa Corps, Cunningham drafted orders to discontinue the offensive and withdraw his forces. Galloway, on his own initiative, delayed issuing the orders and contacted Cairo to suggest that Claude Auchinleck
, the Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command
, should come forward to review the situation personally. In the meantime, Galloway discussed the situation with Cunningham's two Corps commanders and learned that both Willoughby Norrie (XXX Corps) and Reade Godwin-Austen (XIII Corps
) felt the offensive should be continued. These views Galloway passed on during the subsequent conference with Auchinleck at Eighth Army HQ. Consequently, Auchinleck ordered Cunningham to continue the offensive. Although Rommell's "dash to the wire", an attempt to sever Eighth Army's lines of supply, caused alarm and confusion in Eighth Army's rear echelon, Rommell's armour was held at the Libyan border with Egypt by the artillery of 4th Indian Infantry Division and then forced to retrace its steps as a result of lack of supply. Eighth Army thus regained the initiative and by January had pushed the Axis forces out of Cyrenaica
.
During Crusader on 27 November 1941, Galloway was promoted acting major-general to become Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS) at GHQ Middle East replacing Neil Ritchie
who had assumed command of Eighth Army. In his new role Galloway spent some time in the USA selecting equipment for the Eighth Army before returning to London in May 1942 to take up the important role of Director of Staff Duties at the War Office
. His rank was upgraded from an acting one to a temporary one in December 1942 and in July 1943 he was appointed to command 1st Armoured Division which was re-fitting in North Africa having fought through the North Africa Campaign since the Battle of Gazala
.
During the division's period of re-fitting and training in North Africa Galloway's rank of major-general was made substantive in December 1943 and then in March 1944 he had an interlude in Italy when the commander of 4th Indian Infantry Division, which was in the front line at Cassino
fell ill. Galloway arrived to take temporary command on 8 March 1944, in time for the Third Battle of Monte Cassino
. In ten days of desperate fighting the Germans succeeded in holding the Allied attack and by 25 March the effort was called off. Galloway's division had to be withdrawn, having sustained some 3,000 casualties during its time at Cassino, and Galloway returned to 1st Armoured Division.
In May 1944 1st Armoured Division was moved to Italy but Galloway saw no action with his division as, in poor health as a result of his time at Cassino, he was shipped back to the UK in mid-August to recuperate. In early 1945, returned to good health, Galloway spent a month in command of 3rd Infantry Division while Lashmer Whistler
took leave.
During the winter of 1944/45 the Germans, responding to civil disobedience in the Netherlands, closed the canals thus preventing the distribution of food and fuel. A District HQ was set up under Galloway who together with Gerald Templer
, 21st Army Group's Director of Civil Affairs and Military Government, and George Clark
, SHAEF representative to the Dutch Government, organised transport and the stockpiling of supplies to relieve the starving population when the military situation permitted. In March Canadian First Army pushed into the Netherlands with Galloway's organisation following. In mid-April a truce was agreed with the German occupying forces allowing relief supplies to be carried to the occupied zones (which happened to be the most highly populated regions of the country) by air (Operation Manna) and road (Operation Faust).
. In December 1945 he was promoted acting lieutenant-general to command XXX Corps following which he was Commander-in-Chief Malaya Command
(1946–1947) and British High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief British Troops Austria from October 1947 to 21 January 1950 His lieutenant-general rank was made permanent in March 1947 with seniority backdated to December 1944 and he was knighted KBE in 1949.
Galloway retired from the army 17 February 1950.
In July 1951, Galloway was appointed Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan. Galloway was unusually blunt for one in a diplomatic role, which created friction between his office and the host government, and with the British Legation in Amman. The legation's annual report for 1951 emphasized the deteriorating economy and the transformation of Jordanian politics in the aftermath of Abdullah's assassination. With regard to Palestinian refugees the report notes efforts to reduce ration rolls and the attempts to persuade refugees to 'build protection against the coming winter' were 'interpreted by the refugees as resettlement outside of Palestine and a surrender of the right to return.'
In 1952, Galloway made a statement to a group of visiting American church leaders regarding the problem of Arab refugees arising from the 1948 Israeli-Arab War: Successive retelling of this quote over the intervening years has resulted in some instances of Galloway's identity being lost and the quote erroneously attributed to a (non-existant) UNRWA employee, Ralph Galloway.
In an op-ed in the same year Galloway was even more blunt about UNRWA: "Staff begets more staff. Plan follows plan. Typewriters click. Brochures and statistics pour out. The refugees remain and eat, and complain and breed; while a game of political ‘last touch’ goes on between the local governments and the director, UNRWA.” He went on to say: “There is need to distinguish between a tempting political maneuver and the hard, unpalatable fact that the refugees cannot in the foreseeable future return to their homes in Palestine. To get this acceptance is a matter of politics: It is beyond the function of UNRWA." For this statement, Galloway was fired at the demand of the Jordanian government.
Galloway's formal employment with UNRWA ended on 30 June 1952. But that was not to be the end of his association with the Arab refugee problem. On Friday 29 August 1952 Galloway published a piece in the conservative Daily Telegraph and Morning Post entitled 'What Can be Done About the Arab Refugees?' He was characteristically direct:
Galloway continued in critical vein covering not only Arab states but also the UNRWA itself as well as the refugees. He concluded:
In 1954 Galloway assumed a position as a public relations director and manager for the Costain
engineering and construction firm and retired in 1964. He and his wife moved to Scotland in 1965 and he died in 1977.
|-
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(born 1895; died 1977) was an officer in the British Army during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was particularly highly regarded as a staff officer and as such had an influential role in the outcome of Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
in 1941.
Early career
On the outbreak of the First World War Galloway volunteered and was commissioned into The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
The Cameronians was an infantry regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry...
but was then posted as a 2nd lieutenant on 8 October 1914 to the 4th battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers, a territorial unit. He saw action in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine and the Western Front and was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 having gained a regular commission in 1917 in which year he also returned to the Scottish Rifles. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 1915 and captain in July 1917.
Between the world wars Galloway had a number of regimental and staff jobs including appointments as Staff Captain at HQ Cairo in February 1930 and also as Brigade Major of the Canal Brigade in Egypt from February 1932. He attended the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
for a year from January 1928 where he also spent a period from February 1937- July 1938 as an instructor. He was promoted to major in December 1933 (having previously been made brevet major) and was made brevet lieutenant-colonel in January 1935. His promotion to lieutenant-colonel came on completing his period instructing at the Staff College in 1938.
World War II
At the start of the war Galloway was commanding the 1st battalion The Cameronians. In February 1940 he was selected to command, in the rank of acting brigadier, the new Staff College at HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
in Palestine. In August he was appointed chief staff officer (BGS - Brigadier General Staff) to Lieutenant-General Henry Maitland Wilson's HQ British Troops Egypt. Wilson lent Galloway to Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...
, commander of the Western Desert Force
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth army formation stationed in Egypt.On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The unit consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry...
to help in the planning of Operation Compass
Operation Compass
Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The attack was a complete success...
. His substantive rank was advanced to full colonel in December 1940.
In early 1941, still Wilson's BGS, Galloway traveled to Greece (with a pause in Crete where between 19 February and 7 March he assumed temporary command of forces on the island) where Wilson was to assume command of 'W Force', the Commonwealth Expeditionary force which arrived during March and April. Overwhelmed by superior German forces in the Battle of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
, the expeditionary force was forced to evacuate the Greek mainland by the end of April and Galloway returned to Cairo to take command of 23rd Infantry Brigade which was in the process of reforming.
Although sent as part of 6th Infantry Division to reinforce Australian I Corps fighting in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign
Syria-Lebanon campaign
The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, in June–July 1941, during World War II. Time Magazine referred to the fighting as a "mixed show" while it was taking place and the campaign remains little known, even...
, the brigade saw no action and by September Galloway was back in Cairo to take up the appointment as BGS to Alan Cunningham, the commander of the newly-formed Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
. On 23 November, during Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
, learning that the British armour had been heavily defeated by the tanks of Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
's Africa Corps, Cunningham drafted orders to discontinue the offensive and withdraw his forces. Galloway, on his own initiative, delayed issuing the orders and contacted Cairo to suggest that Claude Auchinleck
Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE , nicknamed "The Auk", was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers...
, the Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command
Middle East Command
The Middle East Command was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region.The...
, should come forward to review the situation personally. In the meantime, Galloway discussed the situation with Cunningham's two Corps commanders and learned that both Willoughby Norrie (XXX Corps) and Reade Godwin-Austen (XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
) felt the offensive should be continued. These views Galloway passed on during the subsequent conference with Auchinleck at Eighth Army HQ. Consequently, Auchinleck ordered Cunningham to continue the offensive. Although Rommell's "dash to the wire", an attempt to sever Eighth Army's lines of supply, caused alarm and confusion in Eighth Army's rear echelon, Rommell's armour was held at the Libyan border with Egypt by the artillery of 4th Indian Infantry Division and then forced to retrace its steps as a result of lack of supply. Eighth Army thus regained the initiative and by January had pushed the Axis forces out of Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
.
During Crusader on 27 November 1941, Galloway was promoted acting major-general to become Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS) at GHQ Middle East replacing Neil Ritchie
Neil Ritchie
General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, KStJ was a senior British army officer during the Second World War.-Military career:...
who had assumed command of Eighth Army. In his new role Galloway spent some time in the USA selecting equipment for the Eighth Army before returning to London in May 1942 to take up the important role of Director of Staff Duties at the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
. His rank was upgraded from an acting one to a temporary one in December 1942 and in July 1943 he was appointed to command 1st Armoured Division which was re-fitting in North Africa having fought through the North Africa Campaign since the Battle of Gazala
Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the Second World War Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from 26 May-21 June 1942...
.
During the division's period of re-fitting and training in North Africa Galloway's rank of major-general was made substantive in December 1943 and then in March 1944 he had an interlude in Italy when the commander of 4th Indian Infantry Division, which was in the front line at Cassino
Cassino
Cassino is a comune in the province of Frosinone, Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio.Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Rapido and Liri rivers...
fell ill. Galloway arrived to take temporary command on 8 March 1944, in time for the Third Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
. In ten days of desperate fighting the Germans succeeded in holding the Allied attack and by 25 March the effort was called off. Galloway's division had to be withdrawn, having sustained some 3,000 casualties during its time at Cassino, and Galloway returned to 1st Armoured Division.
In May 1944 1st Armoured Division was moved to Italy but Galloway saw no action with his division as, in poor health as a result of his time at Cassino, he was shipped back to the UK in mid-August to recuperate. In early 1945, returned to good health, Galloway spent a month in command of 3rd Infantry Division while Lashmer Whistler
Lashmer Whistler
General Sir Lashmer Gordon Whistler GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars, DL , known as Bolo, was a British army officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. In the Second World War he achieved senior ranks serving with Field Marshal Montgomery in North Africa and Europe...
took leave.
During the winter of 1944/45 the Germans, responding to civil disobedience in the Netherlands, closed the canals thus preventing the distribution of food and fuel. A District HQ was set up under Galloway who together with Gerald Templer
Gerald Templer
Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954...
, 21st Army Group's Director of Civil Affairs and Military Government, and George Clark
John George Walters Clark
John George Walters Clark CB, MC was a British army officer in both World War I and World War II.-Early life:Clark was commissioned into the 16th The Queen's Lancers in 1911 and fought with them during World War I. In 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross...
, SHAEF representative to the Dutch Government, organised transport and the stockpiling of supplies to relieve the starving population when the military situation permitted. In March Canadian First Army pushed into the Netherlands with Galloway's organisation following. In mid-April a truce was agreed with the German occupying forces allowing relief supplies to be carried to the occupied zones (which happened to be the most highly populated regions of the country) by air (Operation Manna) and road (Operation Faust).
Post war
At the end of the war Galloway was appointed Chief of Staff of 21st Army Group, replacing the exhausted Freddie de GuingandFreddie de Guingand
Major-General Sir Francis Wilfred de Guingand KBE, CB, DSO , better known as Freddie de Guingand, was a British Army officer who served with Montgomery from El Alamein to the surrender of the Wehrmacht in the West...
. In December 1945 he was promoted acting lieutenant-general to command XXX Corps following which he was Commander-in-Chief Malaya Command
Malaya Command
The Malaya Command was a command of British Commonwealth forces formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of Malaya and Singapore.-History:...
(1946–1947) and British High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief British Troops Austria from October 1947 to 21 January 1950 His lieutenant-general rank was made permanent in March 1947 with seniority backdated to December 1944 and he was knighted KBE in 1949.
Galloway retired from the army 17 February 1950.
In July 1951, Galloway was appointed Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan. Galloway was unusually blunt for one in a diplomatic role, which created friction between his office and the host government, and with the British Legation in Amman. The legation's annual report for 1951 emphasized the deteriorating economy and the transformation of Jordanian politics in the aftermath of Abdullah's assassination. With regard to Palestinian refugees the report notes efforts to reduce ration rolls and the attempts to persuade refugees to 'build protection against the coming winter' were 'interpreted by the refugees as resettlement outside of Palestine and a surrender of the right to return.'
In 1952, Galloway made a statement to a group of visiting American church leaders regarding the problem of Arab refugees arising from the 1948 Israeli-Arab War: Successive retelling of this quote over the intervening years has resulted in some instances of Galloway's identity being lost and the quote erroneously attributed to a (non-existant) UNRWA employee, Ralph Galloway.
In an op-ed in the same year Galloway was even more blunt about UNRWA: "Staff begets more staff. Plan follows plan. Typewriters click. Brochures and statistics pour out. The refugees remain and eat, and complain and breed; while a game of political ‘last touch’ goes on between the local governments and the director, UNRWA.” He went on to say: “There is need to distinguish between a tempting political maneuver and the hard, unpalatable fact that the refugees cannot in the foreseeable future return to their homes in Palestine. To get this acceptance is a matter of politics: It is beyond the function of UNRWA." For this statement, Galloway was fired at the demand of the Jordanian government.
Galloway's formal employment with UNRWA ended on 30 June 1952. But that was not to be the end of his association with the Arab refugee problem. On Friday 29 August 1952 Galloway published a piece in the conservative Daily Telegraph and Morning Post entitled 'What Can be Done About the Arab Refugees?' He was characteristically direct:
Galloway continued in critical vein covering not only Arab states but also the UNRWA itself as well as the refugees. He concluded:
In 1954 Galloway assumed a position as a public relations director and manager for the Costain
Costain Group
Costain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects.-History:...
engineering and construction firm and retired in 1964. He and his wife moved to Scotland in 1965 and he died in 1977.
Footnotes
|-|-