Michael Forrester

Michael Forrester
Born	31 August 1917
Died	15 October 2006
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1938 - 1970
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	1/6th Bn Queen's Royal Regiment 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment 16th Parachute Brigade Group 4th Division
Battles/wars	Arab revolt in Palestine World War II Mau Mau Uprising
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross & Bar

Major-General Michael Forrester CB CBE DSO & Bar MC & Bar (31 August 1917 - 15 October 2006) was a British Army officer who commanded 4th Division.

Military career

Educated at Haileybury,^[1] Forrester was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment in 1938^[2] and took part in the response to the Arab revolt in Palestine in 1939.^[1] He served in World War II in Greece and in the Western Desert before becoming Commanding Officer of 1/6th Bn Queen's Royal Regiment in 1943; in that role he secured the key bridge at Scafati in Italy and then took part in the Normandy landings before being wounded there.^[1]

He was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and served in Cyprus and Egypt during 1951 and 1952.^[2] He was made Director of Staff at the Staff College, Camberley in 1953, a General Staff Officer at General Headquarters East Africa in 1955 during the Mau Mau Uprising^[1] and Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in 1957.^[2] He went on to be Colonel, Military Operations at the War Office in 1960, Commander of 16th Parachute Brigade Group in 1961 and General Officer Commanding 4th Division in Germany in 1965.^[2] His last appointment was as Director of Infantry at the Ministry of Defence in 1968 before he retired in 1970.^[2]

Family

In 1947 he married Pauline Fisher (the marriage was dissolved in 1960); they had two sons.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Obituary: Major-General Michael Forrester
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives

Military offices
Preceded by Basil Eugster	General Officer Commanding the 4th Division 1965–1967	Succeeded by Vernon Erskine-Crum