Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969), was a British Army officer who served in both of the world wars. Alexander was born in London and was educated at Harrow school before moving on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, for training as an army officer of the Irish Guards. He rose to military prominence through his service in the First World War, and continued his career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia during the interwar period.
In the Second World War, Alexander, initially in command of a division, oversaw the final stages of the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk and subsequently held field commands in Britain, Burma, North Africa and Italy, including serving as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commanding the 18th Army Group in Tunisia. He then commanded the 15th Army Group for the capture of Sicily and again in Italy before being promoted to field marshal and being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean in late 1944.
In 1946, after being created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, he was appointed as Governor General of Canada by King George VI, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to replace the Earl of Athlone as viceroy. In 1952, he was elevated in the British peerage, becoming Earl Alexander of Tunis, and was succeeded by Vincent Massey as Governor General of Canada. Alexander proved to be enthusiastic about the Canadian wilderness and popular with Canadians. He was the last Governor General who was born in the United Kingdom as well as the last Governor General to be a peer.
After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and thereafter, in order to serve as the British Minister of Defence in the Cabinet of Winston Churchill, into the Imperial Privy Council. Alexander retired in 1954 and died in 1969.
Early life and military career
Alexander was born in London into an aristocratic family from County Tyrone of Anglo-Irish descent. He was the third son of James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon, and Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler, Countess of Caledon, a daughter of the 3rd Earl of Norbury. Alexander was educated at Hawtreys and Harrow School, there participating as the 11th batsman in the sensational Fowler's Match against Eton College in 1910. Though Alexander toyed with the notion of becoming an artist, he went instead on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1910.
thumb|left|Members of the Irish Guards, pictured here sometime before 1914. Alexander, wearing civilian clothes, is standing fourth on the left.
After passing out from Sandhurst he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards on 23 September 1911. He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 December 1912. He was promoted to temporary captain on 15 November 1914 and permanent captain in the newly raised 2nd Battalion on 7 February the following year. For service in the Battle of the Somme on 15 September 1916, he was, in October, appointed to the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the citation for which read:
Graham and Bidwell, however, wrote that Alexander's impenetrable reserve made it hard to judge whether or not he had any military ideas. They state that he was "unable or unwilling" to assert his will over his army commanders, and that Mark Clark, who often referred to Alexander scornfully as a "peanut" and a "feather duster", exploited this weakness. and created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, of Errigal in the County of Donegal, on 1 March. On 21 March 1946, the commission under the royal sign-manual and signet appointing Alexander was issued. Alexander was subsequently sworn in during a ceremony in the Senate chamber on 12 April that year.
thumb|left|upright|The Viscount and Viscountess Alexander of Tunis are greeted by [[Prime Minister of Canada Mackenzie King upon the viceregal couple's arrival in Ottawa, 12 April 1946]]
Alexander took his duties as the viceroy quite seriously, feeling that as governor general, he acted as a connection between Canadians and their King, and spent considerable time travelling Canada during his term; he eventually logged no less than 294,500 km (184,000 mi) during his five years as governor general. On these trips, he sought to engage with Canadians through various ceremonies and events; he was keenly interested in his role as Chief Scout of Canada and, in preparation for his kicking of the opening ball in the 1946 Grey Cup final, practised frequently on the grounds of the royal and viceregal residence, Rideau Hall. Also, in commemoration of Alexander being named the first non-aboriginal chief of the Kwakiutl tribe, he was given a totem pole on 13 July 1946; crafted by Mungo Martin, it remains on the grounds of Rideau Hall today.
In 1947, the King issued letters patent granting his Canadian governor general permission to exercise all those powers belonging to the monarch in respect of Canada and, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference of 1949, the decision was reached to use the term "member of the Commonwealth" instead of "Dominion" to refer to the non-British member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. That same year, Alexander oversaw the admission of the Newfoundland (a dominion by name but not self-governing) into the Canadian Confederation and toured the new province that summer. Then, during a later visit to Alberta, the Governor General was admitted to the Blackfoot tribe as Chief Eagle Head. However, though the post-war period saw a boom in prosperity for Canada, the country was again at war by 1950, with Alexander, in his role as acting commander-in-chief, deploying to the Korean War soldiers, sailors, and airmen, whom he would visit prior to their departure for north-east Asia.
thumb|right|In the Governor General's study at [[Rideau Hall, Alexander (centre) receives for his signature the bill finalising the union of Newfoundland and Canada, 31 March 1949]]
Alexander travelled abroad on official trips—in 1947 visiting US president Harry S. Truman and in June 1948 Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra—as well as hosting a number of dignitaries. The visit of the Irish Taoiseach, John A. Costello, in 1948 caused Alexander some embarrassment when Costello chose the occasion to announce that the state of Ireland<!---which has not been called the Irish Free State since the adoption of its 1937 constitution--->, which controlled most of the Island of Ireland, would become the Republic of Ireland and would therefore leave the Commonwealth (Northern Ireland was not a part of the Irish state, but was rather a constituent part of the United Kingdom, and would thus remain in the Commonwealth). Although the decision had been taken in principle earlier, the sudden announcement caused a diplomatic storm and Costello, to deflect criticism, claimed that he had been provoked into making the announcement by a series of diplomatic snubs by Lord Alexander. In his memoirs, Costello was to admit that Alexander's behaviour had in fact been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made to declare the Republic of Ireland.
The Alexanders' relatively informal lifestyle at Rideau Hall was demonstrated when during the Canadian tour of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Viscount and Viscountess hosted a square dance in the palace's ballroom. Alexander painted (creating a personal studio in the former dairy at Rideau Hall and mounting classes in art at the National Gallery of Canada He presented the Alexander Cup to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in November 1950; the cup became the championship trophy of the Major Series of senior ice hockey.
Among Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment. He not only had a much praised military reputation (he was considered to be the best military strategist since the 1st Duke of Wellington George VI died on the night of 5–6 February and Alexander, in respect of the King's mourning, departed quietly for the United Kingdom, leaving Chief Justice of Canada Thibaudeau Rinfret as administrator of the government in his place. After his return to the UK, Alexander was on 14 March 1952 elevated in the peerage by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming Earl Alexander of Tunis, Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg. He was also appointed to the organising committee for the Queen's coronation and was charged with carrying the Sovereign's Orb in the state procession on that occasion in 1953.
Retirement
Alexander served as British defence minister until 1954, when he retired from politics. In 1959 the Queen appointed Alexander to the Order of Merit. From 1960 to 1965, he served as Constable of the Tower of London.
Canada remained a favourite second home for the Alexanders and they returned frequently to visit family and friends until Alexander died on 16 June 1969 of a perforated aorta.
- Lady Rose Maureen Alexander (born 28 October 1932, died 21 August 2017)
- Shane William Desmond Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis (born 30 June 1935)
- Hon. Brian James Alexander, CMG (born 31 July 1939)
- Lady Susan Mary Alexander (born 26 February 1948) (adopted)
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
- 10 December 1891 – 1 March 1946: The Honourable Harold Alexander
- 1 March 1946 – 16 June 1969: The Right Honourable The Viscount Alexander of Tunis
- 1950: Chief of the Blackfoot Tribe
- 1952: Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (PC)
- 17 May 1957 – 1 April 1965: Lord Lieutenant of the County of London
- 1 April 1965 – 28 December 1966: Lord Lieutenant of Greater London
- 1960–1965: Constable of the Tower of London
- 1945: Freedom of the City of Manchester
- 25 March 1946: Freedom of the City of London
- Freedom of the City of Edinburgh
Military appointments
- 7 March 1936 – 19 November 1937: Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty the King (ADC)
- 2 July 1937 – 14 August 1947: Colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment
- 28 August 1946 – 16 June 1969: Colonel of the Irish Guards
- 10 November 1949 – n/a: Colonel of the Royal Ulster Rifles (London Irish Rifles)
- 10 July 1951: Colonel of the Oxford University Contingent of the University Training Corps
Honorary degrees
- 22 May 1946: McGill University, Quebec Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 1946: Queen's University, Ontario Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 1946: University of Toronto, Ontario Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 13 May 1948: University of British Columbia, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 21 March 1949: University of California Los Angeles, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 22 October 1949: University of Western Ontario, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 1953: University of Liverpool, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- 1955: University of Nottingham, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Unofficial
Alberta
- Chief Eagle Head
Honorific eponyms
Geographic locations
- : Viscount Alexander Park, Ottawa
Schools
- : Viscount Alexander Public School, Ottawa
- : École Viscount Alexander, Winnipeg
Honours, decorations and arms
Source:
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{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|Ribbon || Description || Notes
|-
|N/A||Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)||
Degree of Knight Companion
3 December 1946
|-
|40px||Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)||
Degree of Knight Grand Cross
11 November 1942
|-
|40px||Order of Merit (OM)||
Degree of Member
1 January 1959
|-
|40px||Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)||
Degree of Grand Master
12 October 1967
|-
|40px||Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (CSI)||
Degree of Companion
7 February 1936:
|-
|40px||Distinguished Service Order (DSO)||
Degree of Companion
20 October 1916
|-
|40px|| Military Cross (MC)||
14 January 1916
|-
|40px||Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem|||
Degree of Knight of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer
28 January 1952
|-
|40px||1914 Star with bar||
1917
|-
|40px||British War Medal||
1919
|-
|40px||Victory Medal||
Mentioned in Dispatches
1919
|-
|40px||India General Service Medal (1909)||
1935
|-
|40px||1939–45 Star||
1945
|-
|40px||Burma Star||
1945
|-
|40px||Africa Star ||
With 1st Army Insignia
North Africa 1942-1943 Bar
|-
|40px||Italy Star||
|-
|40px||War Medal 1939–1945||
Mentioned in Dispatches 1940 and 1942
|-
|40px||King George V Silver Jubilee Medal||
1935
|-
|40px||King George VI Coronation Medal||
1937
|-
|40px||Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal||
1953
|-
|40px||Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) ||
|-
|40px||Knight of the Legion of Honour||
|-
|40px||Croix de Guerre with palm||
|-
|40px||Order of St. Anna||Degree of Member Second Class with Swords
|-
|40px||Order of Suvorov||Degree of Member First Class
|-
|40px||Royal Order of George I||Degree of Member Grand Cross
|-
|40px||Order of the Redeemer||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|40px||Order Virtuti Militari|| Degree of Member Fifth Class
|-
|40px||Legion of Merit||Degree of Chief Commander
|-
|40px||Distinguished Service Medal||
|-
|40px||European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal||With four Campaign Stars
|-
|40px||Order of Leopold II||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|40px||Belgian Croix de Geurre with palm||
|-
|40px|| Order of San Marino||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|40px||Order of Tri Shakti Patta||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|40px||Order of Nichan Iftikhar||Degree of Grand Cordon
|-
|40px||Order of Ouissam Alaouite||Degree of Officer
|-
|40px||Order of Military Merit||Degree of Officer
|-
|40px||Campaign Medal (Brazil)||
|-
|40px||Order of the White Lion||
|-
|40px||Czechoslovak War Cross 1939||
|-
|40px||War Merit Cross of Italy||
|-
|40px||Order of the Star of Africa||Degree of Grand Commander
|-
|}
</div>
Arms
List of works
See also
- Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II
Notes
Citations
References
External links
- Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Harold Alexander
- The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Harold Alexander
- British Army Officers 1939–1945
- Generals of World War II
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