- Philip Tower
Major-General Philip Thomas Tower, CB, DSO, MBE (
1 March 1917 –8 December 2006 ) was a British soldier.The only son of
Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Tower was born in Rhu,Dunbartonshire . Educated inHarrow School andRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich , he was commissioned into theRoyal Artillery in 1937. Tower served with the 25th Field Regiment, inIndia until the outbreak of theSecond World War .Ordered to
North Africa , he fought against the Italians in 1940 and 1941 and served at theBattle of Bir Hakeim in May 1942. When GeneralNeil Ritchie abandoned theGazala Line , the garrison atTobruk was left isolated and Tower’s force fought until their ammunition was exhausted, at which point they surrendered. He was appointed to theDistinguished Service Order for his part in this action. Tower was interred in aprisoner-of-war camp in Italy until the Italians surrendered in September 1943. He then escaped and crossed through the German lines reaching safety in one month later. He was appointedBrigade Major of the 1st Airborne Division in April 1944. AtArnhem , he parachuted and was safely evacuated. Tower accompanied1st Air Landing Regiment in the relief ofNorway in Spring 1945.In 1967, he was further appointed
Companion of theOrder of the Bath , having been made a Member of theOrder of the British Empire , and was put in command ofRoyal Military College, Sandhurst . In May of the same year, he becameGeneral Officer Commanding Middle East Land Forces where he served in theAden Emergency . Retired from the army in 1972, he was Administrator ofBlickling Hall inNorfolk from 1973 to 1982. Between 1975 and 1978, he was County commissioner for the NorfolkSt John Ambulance Brigade .Tower was married to Elizabeth Sneyd-Kynnersley; they were childless.
References
*cite web | url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2497571,00.html| title= Obituary| author= "
The Times "| date=2006-12-11 | accessdate= 2006-12-13
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.