Henry Templer Alexander

Infobox Military Person
name= Henry Templer Alexander
lived=1911 - 1977


caption=
nickname=
placeofbirth=United Kingdom
placeofdeath=United Kingdom
allegiance=United Kingdom
branch=British army
Ghana army
serviceyears=1931 – 1965
rank=Major General
unit=
commands=Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana)
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
battles=World War II, (1939-1945)
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Major General Henry Templer Alexander (1911 - 1977) was a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Education

Major General Alexander attended Sedbergh School, Yorkshire. He then received military training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.cite web |url=http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=267&inst_id=21 |title=ALEXANDER, Maj Gen Henry Templer (1911-1977) |accessdate=2007-04-14 |publisher=Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]

Career

Major General Alexander was commissioned in 1931 into the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). He was promoted in 1934 as a lieutenant. In 1939, he was promoted to the rank of Captain. He then served as an instructor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst for two years. Between 1939 and 1945, he saw action in World War II in North Africa, Italy, India, Burma and North West Europe. He was promoted Major in 1943 and Commanding Officer, 2 Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in Italy in 1944. He has also served as Chief Instructor, School of Combined Operations, 1946-1947 and General Staff Officer 1 first at Hong Kong, 1948-1950, then at Camberley, Surrey. Major General Alexander became a Colonel in 1954 and was appointed Commanding Officer, 1 Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) between 1954 and 1955 and he also commanded 26 Gurkha Infantry Brigade between 1955 and 1957. Between 1958 and 1960, he served as Senior Instructor, Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, Brigade General Staff, Department of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, War Office and at the Imperial Defence College.

Between 1960 and 1961, he worked with the Ghana Armed Forces as Chief of Defence Staff. During that period, he commanded the Ghanaian contingent of the UN Forces in the Belgian Congo.

Retirement

Henry Templer Alexander retired in1965. He was a British Observer with the International Observer Team on Genocide in Nigeria in 1968.

Honours

*1943 - MBE
*1945 - OBE
*1957 - DSO
*1960 - CBE
*1961 awarded CB

Publications

*African tightrope. My two years as Nkrumah's Chief of Staff (Pall Mall Press, London, 1965).

Notes