Allan Adair

He joined the British Army, receiving his commission as a probationary second lieutenant on 2 May 1916 in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Grenadier Guards,[3] the same regiment with which an ancestor of Adair's had been serving when he was killed at the battle of Waterloo.[4] From January 1917 onwards he served in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, with the rank of lieutenant.He led his company correctly into position and then made several personal reconnaissances under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, and cleared up the situation.[3] After the armistice of 11 November 1918 Adair's battalion returned to London, where on 29 June 1920 he received his permanent lieutenant's commission, with seniority backdated to 2 August 1918.[3][6] The battalion, forming part of the 1st Guards Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division (the former commanded by Brigadier Merton Beckwith-Smith and the latter by Major-General Harold Alexander, both, like Adair, Guardsmen), soon found themselves in the thick of the fighting during the battles of Belgium and France, and held the perimeter against German attacks during the Dunkirk evacuation.[6] It was when Adair's battalion launched a counterattack which helped restore the British line which impressed Franklyn, who later wrote: I give this example of the highest form of discipline.After marching well over twenty miles on a very hot day they arrived at my Headquarters at 7.30 p.m. An hour later they were put into a vital counter-attack in the half light, over unknown ground.[10] Following the Allied break-out from Normandy they advanced across Northern France and into Belgium as part of Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks' XXX Corps.
Scenes of jubilation as British troops liberate Brussels, 4 September 1944. Major-General Adair, GOC Guards Armoured Division, acknowledges the crowd from his Cromwell command tank .
Field Marshal Montgomery (second row, fifth from the left) with his staff and senior commanders at Walbeck , Germany, 22 March 1945. Major-General Adair is stood in the back row, farthest on the right.
Opening of the National Liberation Museum in Nijmegen and commemoration of Operation Market Garden , 17 September 1984; from left to right: Prince Bernhard ; British former Major-General Sir Allan HS Adair (former commander of the Guards Armoured Division); former US Lieutenant General James M. Gavin (former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division ).
LondonNorfolkBritish ArmyMajor GeneralService numberGrenadier Guards13th Infantry DivisionGuards DivisionGuards Armoured Division6th Guards Armoured Brigade30th Independent Infantry BrigadeFirst World WarSecond World WarKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderCompanion of the Order of the BathDistinguished Service OrderMilitary CrossMentioned in DespatchesCommander of the Order of LeopoldCroix de guerre (Belgium)Croix de guerreMajor-GeneralWorld warscompany commanderGeneral Officer CommandingHarrow Schoolcommissionsecond lieutenantbattle of WaterlootrenchesWestern Frontlieutenant2nd Guards BrigadeGerman ArmyHindenburg Linebattle of Passchendaeleacting rankcaptainOfficer CommandingPreux-au-Sartarmistice of 11 November 1918second-in-commandCommanding Officerlieutenant colonel1st Guards Brigade1st Infantry DivisionBrigadierMerton Beckwith-SmithHarold AlexanderBelgiumFranceDunkirk evacuationHarry NichollsVictoria Crosses5th Infantry DivisionHarold Franklyncounterattack30th Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards)Cromwell command tankOliver LeesecolonelOperation OverlordLieutenant GeneralSir Richard O'ConnorVIII CorpsOperation GoodwoodOperation BluecoatMontgomeryWalbeckAlliedbreak-out from Normandyadvanced across Northern France and into BelgiumBrian HorrocksXXX CorpsBrusselsOperation Market GardenBattle of the BulgeOperation Veritableadvancing through GermanyGerman surrendersurrender of JapanCivil WarNational Liberation MuseumPrince BernhardJames M. Gavin82nd Airborne DivisionYeomen of the GuardUnited Grand Lodge of FreemasonsDeputy LieutenantCounty AntrimJustice of the PeaceSuffolkkilled in actionFlixton Halldeath dutiesRaveninghamDoherty, RichardBarnsleySouth YorkshirePen and Sword BooksThe London GazetteCommonwealth War Graves CommissionNational Portrait GallerySir Oliver LeeseGOC Guards Armoured DivisionGOC Guards DivisionJohn MarriottGOC 13th Infantry DivisionThe Lord JeffreysColonel of the Grenadier GuardsPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghBaronetage of the United KingdomBaronet