Major-General Sir Julian Alvery Gascoigne, KCMG, KCVO, CB, DSO, DL (25 October 1903 – 26 February 1990) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and became Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District. After retiring from the army, he worked as a stockbroker and then served as Governor of Bermuda from 1959 to 1964.
Early life and education
Gascoigne was born on 25 October 1903 at Ashtead Lodge, Ashtead, Surrey, England.[1] His father was Brigadier-General Sir Frederick Gascoigne, KCVO, CMG, DSO.[1] He was educated at Eton College, an all-boys public boarding school.[2]
Military career
Gascoigne entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards in 1923.[2] From 1927 to 1928, he served as aide de camp to Sir Stanley Jackson, the then Governor of Bengal.[2] He was an instructor at Sandhurst in 1935,[2] and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1938 to 1939.[1]
During the early part of the Second World War, from 1939 to 1941, Gascoigne served as a staff officer in and around London.[1] He was Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards from 1941 to 1942, and of the 201st Guards Motor Brigade from 1942 to 1943.[1][2] He saw active service in Egypt, Syria, North Africa and Italy.[2] He fought at the Battle of Alamein, with the Eighth Army in Tunis, and in Salerno as part of the Allied invasion of Italy.[2] He was seriously wounded during fighting at Monte Camino in 1943, and was evacuated back to the UK where he spent time recuperating in hospital.[2][1] He was an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley from 1944 until the end of the war.[2]
After the war, he attended the Imperial Defence College in 1946.[1] From 1947 to 1949, he served as Deputy Commander of the British Joint Services Mission in Washington, D.C.[2] He was appointed Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District in 1950.[1] During his time as "The Major General", he oversaw the funeral of King George VI and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2]
Gascoigne retired from the army in 1953.[2]
Later career
In retirement he worked as a stockbroker from 1955 to 1959 and was then Governor of Bermuda (combining the roles of civil Governor and military Commander-in-Chief of the Bermuda Command) from 1959 to 1964.[2] He hosted an important summit meeting in December 1961 between British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, following the erection of the Berlin Wall.[3]
Personal life
By 1970 he was President of the Union Jack Club in London.[4]
In 1928, he married Joyce Newman.[1][5] Together, they had one son and one daughter.[1] He was an uncle of University Challenge host Bamber Gascoigne.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gascoigne, Maj.-Gen. Sir Julian (Alvery), (25 Oct. 1903–26 Feb. 1990), DL". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Higgon, Katharine (November 2007). "GASCOIGNE, Maj Gen Sir Julian Alvery". Liddell Hart Military Archives. King's College London. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ Special Visitors Bermuda On-line
- ^ The Union Jack Club – 100 years on Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Lady Joyce Gascoigne (née Newman), Wife of Sir Julian Gascoigne". National Portrait Gallery.
- ^ "Special Coronation Edition". Television Newsreel. BBC. 2 June 1953. Retrieved 11 September 2013.