Alfred Dudley Ward

General Sir Alfred Dudley Ward, GCB, KBE, DSO, (27 January 1905 – 28 December 1991), was a British Army officer during the Second World War and later Governor of Gibraltar.

Educated at Wimborne Grammar School, Ward went on to serve in the army as an other rank for three years before entering Sandhurst Military Academy. He was commissioned into the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1929 and went on to the Staff College, Quetta in 1935. In 1937, Ward was promoted to captain and transferred to the King's Regiment (Liverpool). With the exception of his secondment to India for staff service in 1939, [LondonGazette|issue=34596|startpage=864|date=7 February 1939|accessdate=2007-11-15] Ward remained in Britain during the initial period of the Second World War.

He became brigadier-general staff in XI Corps in 1942 and subsequently took command of 231 Brigade. Ward became commander of 17 Brigade in October 1943, which he led in Italy. Given the acting rank of major-general, Ward took command of the 4th Infantry Division in April 1944. The division fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino the following month, during which it suffered heavy casualties attempting to establish a bridgehead over the Rapido river. His division later moved to Greece, where it was active against Communist partisans. For his services in Italy he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). [LondonGazette |issue=37161|linkeddate=1945-07-03 |startpage=3490|endpage= |supp=y |accessdate=2008-08-05 ]

After the war, Ward was promoted to substantive major-general [LondonGazette|issue=37986|startpage=2711|supp=yes|date=13 June 1947|accessdate=2007-11-15] and appointed in quick succession as Director of Military Operations at the War Office and commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, in 1947 and 1948 respectively. He assumed command of I Corps in Germany before returning to Britain in 1953 as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Ward returned to Germany in 1957 as Commander-in-Chief of Northern Army Group and the British Army of the Rhine. From 1959 to 1962, he served as Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II and Commander-in-Chief, Near East Command.

He became Governor and Commander-in-Chief Gibraltar in 1962, where he presided over the introduction of the 1964 constitution. The Dudley Ward Tunnel is named in his honour. Ward retired from the army in 1965 [LondonGazette|issue=43809|startpage=10427|supp=yes|date=5 November 1965|accessdate=2007-11-15] and subsequently devoted himself to serving as Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk until 1984.

Following convention for retired senior officers, Ward maintained links with the British Army through the honorary positions of Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Colonel of the King's Regiment.

References

*Smart, Nick (2005), "Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War", Leo Cooper Ltd ISBN 1-84415-049-6