View source for Harold Alexander 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

{{Short description|British field marshal; Governor General of Canada (1891–1969)}}
{{Redirect|Harold Alexander}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Earl Alexander of Tunis
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KG|GCB|OM|GCMG|CSI|DSO|MC|CD|PCc|PC}}
| image               = Harold Alexander E010750678-v8.jpg
| caption             = Alexander in 1944
| order               = 17th
| office              = Governor General of Canada
| term_start          = 12 April 1946
| term_end            = 28 January 1952
| monarch             = [[George VI]]
| predecessor         = [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|The Earl of Athlone]]
| successor           = [[Vincent Massey]]
| primeminister       = {{plainlist|
* [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]
* [[Louis St. Laurent]]
}}
| office2             = [[Minister of Defence (United Kingdom)|Minister of Defence]]
| term_start2         = 1 March 1952
| term_end2           = 18 October 1954
| primeminister2      = [[Winston Churchill]]
| predecessor2        = Winston Churchill
| successor2          = [[Harold Macmillan]]
| office3             = [[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London]]
| monarch3            = [[Elizabeth II]]
| term_start3         = 25 April 1957
| term_end3           = 1 April 1965
| predecessor3        = [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Alan Brooke]]
| successor3          = ''Himself'' (as ''[[Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London]]'')
| office4             = [[Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London]]
| monarch4            = [[Elizabeth II]]
| term_start4         = 1 April 1965
| term_end4           = 28 December 1966
| predecessor4        = ''Himself'' (as ''[[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London]]'')
| successor4          = [[Gerald Templer]]
| office6             = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status6             = Lord Temporal
| term_start6         = 1 March 1946
| term_end6           = 16 June 1969
| predecessor6        = [[Earl Alexander of Tunis|''Peerage created'']]
| successor6          = [[Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis|2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis]]
| birth_name          = Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1891|12|10|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[London]], England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1969|6|16|1891|12|10|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Slough]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Margaret Alexander, Countess&nbsp;Alexander of Tunis]]|14 October 1931}}
| children            = {{plainlist|
* [[Lady]] Rose Maureen Alexander
* [[Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis|Shane, 2nd Earl]]
* [[The Honourable|The Hon.]] Brian James Alexander
}}
| profession          = Soldier
| signature           = Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Signature.svg
| allegiance          = United Kingdom
| branch              = [[British Army]]
| nickname            = {{ubl|"Alex"|"The Soldier's Soldier"<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 April 2014 |title=Earl Alexander's Funeral (1969)|url= https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=b2jPeLDk1McqqAZ2&v=dkAf5UVYu9k|access-date=30 March 2024 |via=Youtube |work=[[Pathé News|Warner-Pathé]]}}</ref>}}
| serviceyears        = 1910–1946<ref name="Officers of the British Army">{{cite web|url=https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_A05.html#Alexander_HRLG|title=British Army officer histories|publisher=Unit Histories|access-date=2022-05-13|archive-date=9 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709131521/https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_A05.html#Alexander_HRLG|url-status=live}}</ref>
| military_blank1     = [[Service number#United Kingdom|Service No.]]
| military_data1      = 17884
| rank                = [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
| commands            = {{plainlist|
* [[Allied Force Headquarters|Supreme Commander Allied Forces Headquarters]]
* [[15th Army Group]]
* [[18th Army Group]]
* [[Middle East Command]]
* [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]]
* [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]]
* [[History of the British 1st Division during the World Wars|1st Infantry Division]]
* [[7th Indian Infantry Brigade|Nowshera Brigade]]
* 1st Battalion, [[Irish Guards]]
* 2nd Battalion, [[Irish Guards]]
* [[Baltische Landeswehr]]
}}
| unit                = [[Irish Guards]]
| battles             = {{plainlist|
* [[First World War]]
* [[Latvian War of Independence]]
* [[Second Mohmand Campaign]]
* [[Second World War]]
}}
| mawards             = [[#Honours|See below]]
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
* [[Harrow School]]
* {{nobr|[[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]}}
}}
| resting_place       = Churchyard of Ridge, near Tyttenhanger
}}
{{Infobox noble
| name = {{plainlist|
* Harold Alexander
* ''1st Earl Alexander of Tunis''
}}
| image = Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis.svg
| image_size = 100px
| caption = ''Arms of Earl Alexander of Tunis''
| parents = {{plainlist|
* [[James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon|The 4th Earl of Caledon]]
* Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler
}}
| tenure = 14 March 1952 – 16 June 1969
| other_titles = {{plainlist|
* 1st Viscount Alexander of Tunis
* 1st Baron Rideau
}}
| title = [[Earl Alexander of Tunis]]
| successor = [[Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis|Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl]]
}}

[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] '''Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis''' (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB |id=30371 |first=David |last=Hunt |title=Alexander, Harold Rupert Leofric George, first Earl Alexander of Tunis}}</ref>), was a [[British Army]] officer who served in both of the [[world war]]s.  Alexander was born in London and was educated at [[Harrow School|Harrow]] school before moving on to the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], for training as an army officer of the [[Irish Guards]].  He rose to military prominence through his service in the [[First World War]], and continued his career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia during the [[interwar period]]. 

In the [[Second World War]], Alexander, initially in command of a division, oversaw the final stages of the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuation from Dunkirk]] and subsequently held field commands in Britain, [[Burma campaign|Burma]], [[Tunisian campaign|North Africa]] and [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italy]], including serving as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commanding the [[18th Army Group]] in [[Tunisia]]. He then commanded the [[15th Army Group]] for the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|capture of Sicily]] and again in Italy before being promoted to field marshal and being made [[Supreme Allied Commander]] [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean]] in late 1944.

In 1946, after being created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, he was appointed as [[Governor General of Canada]] by King [[George VI]], on the recommendation of the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], to replace the [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|Earl of Athlone]] as [[viceroy]]. In 1952, he was elevated in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom|British peerage]], becoming [[Earl Alexander of Tunis]], and was succeeded by [[Vincent Massey]] as Governor General of Canada. Alexander proved to be enthusiastic about the Canadian wilderness and popular with Canadians. He was the last Governor General who was born in the [[United Kingdom]] as well as the last Governor General to be a peer.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Alexander was sworn into the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] and thereafter,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres/hist/A-E-eng.htm#A| last=Privy Council Office| author-link=Privy Council Office (Canada)| title=Historical Alphabetical List since 1867 of Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=30 October 2008| access-date=20 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117152612/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres%2Fhist%2FA-E-eng.htm#A| archive-date=17 January 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref> in order to serve as the [[Minister of Defence (United Kingdom)|British Minister of Defence]] in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] of [[Winston Churchill]], into the Imperial [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]]. Alexander retired in 1954 and died in 1969.

==Early life and military career==
Alexander was born in London into an aristocratic family from [[County Tyrone]] of [[Anglo-Irish]] descent. He was the third son of [[James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon]], and Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler, Countess of Caledon, a daughter of [[Earl of Norbury|the 3rd Earl of Norbury]]. Alexander was educated at [[Hawtreys]] and [[Harrow School]], there participating as the 11th batsman in the sensational [[Fowler's Match]] against [[Eton College]] in 1910.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Williamson| first=Martin| title=Fowler's Match| journal=[[Cricinfo Magazine]]| publisher=Entertainment and Sports Programming Network| location=London| date=9 April 2005| url=http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/143944.html| access-date=21 March 2009| archive-date=12 July 2012| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712003257/http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/143944.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Though Alexander toyed with the notion of becoming an artist,{{sfn|Graham| Bidwell| 1986| p=34}} he went instead on to the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] in 1910.<ref>{{Harvnb| Heathcote| 1999| p=13}}</ref>

[[File:Irish Guards Pre-1914 Q67390.jpg|thumb|left|Members of the Irish Guards, pictured here sometime before 1914. Alexander, wearing civilian clothes, is standing fourth on the left.]]

After [[Passing out (military)|passing out]] from Sandhurst he was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Irish Guards]] on 23 September 1911.<ref name=":0">{{London Gazette| issue=28533| date=22 September 1911|page=6950}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 5 December 1912.<ref name=":1">{{London Gazette| issue=28688| date=7 February 1913|page=961}}</ref><ref name="Officers of the British Army" />

==First World War==
[[File:Irish Guards Platoon 1914.jpg|thumb|left|A platoon of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, pictured upon the outbreak of the First World War, 1914. Lieutenant Alexander is seated seventh from the right, with his arms folded and wearing a [[peaked cap]].]]

Alexander spent most of the [[First World War]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. As a 22-year-old [[platoon]] commander in the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, he served with the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) in 1914. He took part in the [[Battle of Mons|retreat from Mons]] and was wounded at [[First Battle of Ypres|First Ypres]] and invalided home.<ref name=Heathcote14>{{Harvnb| Heathcote| 1999| p=14}}</ref> He was promoted to temporary [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 15 November 1914 and permanent captain in the newly raised 2nd Battalion on 7 February the following year.<ref name=":2">{{London Gazette| issue=29160| date=12 May 1915|page=4625| supp=y}}</ref><ref name="Officers of the British Army" />

Alexander returned to the Western Front in August 1915, fought at the [[Battle of Loos]] and was, for ten days in October 1915, an [[Acting rank|acting]] [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]] and acting [[Commanding officer|Commanding Officer]] (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, as a "Battle Casualty Replacement". He then returned to the 2nd Battalion as a company officer<ref name=Heathcote14/> and, in January 1916, received the [[Military Cross]] for his bravery at Loos.<ref name=LGazMC>{{London Gazette| issue=29438| date=14 January 1916|page=576| supp=y}}</ref> For service in the [[Battle of the Somme]] on [[Battle of Flers-Courcelette|15 September 1916]], he was, in October, appointed to the [[Distinguished Service Order]] (DSO),<ref name=DSOCit>{{London Gazette| issue=29793| date=20 October 1916|page=10169| supp=y}}</ref> the citation for which read:

{{Blockquote|For conspicuous gallantry in action. He was the life and soul of the attack, and throughout the day led forward not only his own men but men of all regiments. He held the trenches gained in spite of heavy machine gun fire.<ref name=DSOCit/>}}

In the same month, Alexander was further honoured with induction into the French [[Légion d'honneur]].<ref name=GGAlex>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Governor General > Former Governors General > Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of Tunis| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=20 March 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://archive.today/20061009193413/http://www.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp| archive-date=9 October 2006| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 10 December 1916, his twenty-fifth birthday, Alexander became [[second-in-command]] (2-i-c) of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, as an acting major.<ref name=Heathcote14/><ref name="Officers of the British Army" /> By May, he was briefly acting CO of the 1st Battalion,<ref name=Heathcote14/> as an acting [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant colonel]], while still only a substantive captain.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30027| date=17 April 1917|page=3738}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30179| date=10 July 1917|page=6971}}</ref> He became a permanent major on 1 August 1917,<ref name=":3">{{London Gazette| issue=30253| date=24 August 1917|page=8860| supp=y}}</ref> and was again promoted acting lieutenant colonel,<ref name=Heathcote14/> this time confirmed as CO of the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, on 15 October.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30385| date=16 November 1917|page=11905}}</ref> Alexander commanded his battalion at [[Battle of Passchendaele|Third Ypres]], where he was slightly wounded, then at Bourlon Wood (part of the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|battle of Cambrai]]), where his battalion suffered 320 casualties out of 400 men.<ref name=Heathcote14/> Alexander, between 23 and 30 March 1918, had to assume command of the [[4th Guards Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Guards Brigade]], during the British retreat from the [[German Army (German Empire)|German Army]]'s [[German spring offensive|Spring Offensive]].<ref name=Heathcote14/><ref>{{Harvnb| Graham| Bidwell| 1986| p=34}}</ref> He once again commanded the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, at Hazebrouck in April 1918, where it took such severe casualties that it saw no further action.<ref name=Heathcote14/> Still an acting lieutenant colonel, he then commanded a corps infantry school in October 1918, a month before the war ended on [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|11 November 1918]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31048| date=3 December 1918|page=14396}}</ref>

[[Rudyard Kipling]], who wrote a history of the Irish Guards, in which his own son, [[John Kipling|Jack Kipling]], fought and was killed in action, noted that, "it is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the men on the lines to which they most readily responded&nbsp;... His subordinates loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their shortcomings; and his men were all his own."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.di2.nu/files/kipling/IrishGuardsv2.html|title=The Irish Guards in the Great War, Vol. 2|last=Kipling|first=Rudyard|access-date=11 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092520/http://www.di2.nu/files/kipling/IrishGuardsv2.html|archive-date=7 April 2014}}</ref>

==Between the wars==
[[File:At Rozenovskaya (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Officers of the Baltic Landeswehr in Latvia 1920 – Alexander stands right in the middle.]]

Alexander in 1919 served with the Allied Control Commission in [[Poland]]. As a temporary lieutenant-colonel,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31958| date=29 June 1920|page=7072}}</ref> he led the [[Baltic German]] [[Baltische Landeswehr|Landeswehr]] in the [[Latvian War of Independence]], commanding units loyal to [[Latvia]] in the successful drive to eject the [[Iskolat|Bolsheviks]] from [[Latgalia]]. During service there, he was accidentally wounded by one of his own sentries on 9 October 1919.<ref>{{Harvnb| Keegan|Reid|1991| pp=107–108 & 128}}</ref>{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=52}}

Alexander returned to Britain in May 1920 as a major, second in command of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards;<ref name=Heathcote14/> in May 1922, he was promoted substantive lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer.<ref name=":4">{{London Gazette| issue=32702| date=16 May 1922|page=3854| supp=y}}</ref> He commanded the battalion at [[Constantinople]] (a sensitive posting in the runup to the [[Chanak Crisis]]), then [[Gibraltar]] from October 1922, then in London from April 1923 until January 1926, when he was released from that role to attend the [[Staff College, Camberley|Staff College at Camberley]], England, from 1926 to 1927.<ref name=Heathcote15>{{Harvnb| Heathcote| 1999| p=15}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33126| date=22 January 1926|page=536}}</ref> By now Alexander had gained an excellent reputation for himself. In addition, he was older than many of his fellow students—and even some of his instructors—at the college. Among his many fellow students were [[Douglas Wimberley]], who would later become a major-general and command the [[51st (Highland) Division]] from 1941—1943, including at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], who formed a high opinion of Alexander, who, despite his outstanding war record, showed little sign of being overly pleased with himself.{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=52}} Instead, he showed "simplicity, directness and kindness" and gained the respect of all at the college, with two notable exceptions—the future [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshals]] [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Alan Brooke]] and [[Bernard Montgomery]]—who did not come away with a particularly favourable impression of him.<ref>{{Harvnb| Graham| Bidwell| 1986| p=35}}</ref>

After graduating from the Staff College, Alexander was then, in February 1928, promoted to [[colonel (United Kingdom)|colonel]] (backdated to 14 May 1926<ref name=Heathcote15/>) and was the next month appointed Officer Commanding the Irish Guards [[military district|Regimental District]] and [[140th (4th London) Brigade|140th (4th London) Infantry Brigade]], part of the [[47th (1/2nd London) Division]], in the [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA),<ref name=Heathcote15/><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33356| date=14 February 1928|page=1050}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33371| date=30 March 1928|page=2341}}</ref> a post he held until January 1930, when he again returned to study, attending the [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]] in London for one year.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33572| date=21 January 1930|page=427}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33573| date=24 January 1930|page=500}}</ref>

Alexander then held [[staff (military)|staff]] appointments as (from January 1931) GSO2 in the Directorate of Military Training at the War Office and (1932–1934) GSO1 at HQ [[Northern Command (United Kingdom)|Northern Command]] in [[York]],<ref name=Heathcote15/> before being made in October 1934 a temporary brigadier and given command of the Nowshera Brigade,<ref name="Brigadier">{{London Gazette| issue=33687| date=6 February 1931|page=832}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33806| date=8 March 1932|page=1605}}</ref> on the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|Northwest Frontier]] in [[British Raj|India]].<ref name=":5">{{London Gazette| issue=34123| date=11 January 1935|page=301}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34112| date=7 December 1934|page=7929}}</ref> For his service there, and in particular for his actions in the Loe-Agra operations against the Pathans in Malakand between February and April 1935, Alexander was that year made a [[Order of the Star of India|Companion of the Order of the Star of India]] and was [[mentioned in dispatches]].<ref name=LGazCSI>{{London Gazette| issue=34253| date=7 February 1936|page=811}}</ref><ref name=MID34253>{{London Gazette| issue=34253| date=7 February 1936|page=818}}</ref> He was mentioned once more for his service during the [[Second Mohmand Campaign]] in [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|Northwest Frontier Province]] from August to October of the same year, serving under [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] [[Claude Auchinleck]]. Alexander had a reputation for leading from the front and for reaching mountain crests with or even ahead of his troops.<ref name=Heathcote15/><ref name=MID34282>{{London Gazette| issue=34282| date=8 May 1936|page=2979}}</ref>{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=51}}

In March 1937, Alexander was appointed as one of the [[Aide-de-camp|aides-de-camp]] to the recently acceded King [[George VI]] and in May returned to the United Kingdom to take part in this capacity in the state procession through London during the [[Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth|King's coronation]].<ref name=LGazAdC>{{London Gazette| issue=34264| date=13 March 1937|page=1657}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34453| date=9 November 1937|page=7034| supp=y}}</ref> Alexander would have been seen in this event by two of his Canadian viceregal successors: [[Vincent Massey]], who was then the [[List of Canadian High Commissioners to the United Kingdom|Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom]], and Massey's secretary, [[Georges Vanier]], who watched the procession from the roof of [[Canada House]] on [[Trafalgar Square]].<ref>{{Cite news| last=Renzetti| first=Elizabeth| title=Vulnerability brings us together| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=26 December 2008| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081225.wnbvanier1227/BNStory/nationbuilder2008/home?pageRequested=all&print=true| access-date=17 March 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116065436/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081225.wnbvanier1227/BNStory/nationbuilder2008/home/?pageRequested=all| archive-date=16 January 2009| df=dmy-all}}</ref> Following the coronation celebration, Alexander returned to India, where he was made the honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion, [[2nd Punjab Regiment]],<ref name=LGazColPun>{{London Gazette| issue=34414| date=2 July 1937|page=4254}}</ref> and then in October 1937 was promoted to the rank of [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|major-general]],<ref name="Major-general">{{London Gazette| issue=34444| date=15 October 1937|page=6372}}</ref> making Alexander the youngest general in the [[British Army]].<ref name=GGAlex /> He relinquished command of his brigade in January 1938,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34492| date=11 March 1938|page=1673}}</ref> and in February returned to the United Kingdom to take command of the [[History of the British 1st Division during the World Wars|1st Infantry Division]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34487| date=25 February 1938|page=1261}}</ref> In June 1938 he was appointed a [[Order of the Bath|Companion of the Order of the Bath]].<ref name=LGazCB>{{London Gazette| issue=34518| date=7 June 1938|page=3688 |supp=y}}</ref>{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=51}}<ref name="Officers of the British Army" />
==Second World War==
===Belgium and France 1939−1940===
[[File:The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France 1939-1940 O1962.jpg|thumb|left|Major-General The Hon. Harold Alexander with [[George VI|King George VI]] inspecting men of the 2nd Battalion, [[Royal Hampshire Regiment|Hampshire Regiment]], part of the [[1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Infantry Brigade (Guards)]] of Alexander's 1st Division, near Bachy, France, December 1939.]]

Following the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]], in September 1939, Alexander brought the 1st Division to [[France]], where it became part of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) and served there for the next eight months. In May 1940, when the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] [[Battle of France|invaded France]], he successfully led the division's [[Battle of Dunkirk|withdrawal to Dunkirk]], where it was [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuated to England]], along with the rest of the BEF. Shortly after Major-General [[Bernard Montgomery]] had been appointed to command [[II Corps (United Kingdom)|II Corps]] (and before that the [[3rd (United Kingdom) Division|3rd Division]]), Alexander was, while still on the [[beachhead]], placed in command of [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I&nbsp;Corps]], and left the eastern mole on the destroyer [[HMS Venomous|''Venomous'']] late on 2 June after ensuring that all British troops had been evacuated.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=41−42}}<ref name=Heathcote15/><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849992,00.html?iid=chix-sphere| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309052501/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849992,00.html?iid=chix-sphere| url-status=dead| archive-date=9 March 2008| title=After the Auk|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| issue=31 August 1942| access-date=1 March 2008| date=31 August 1942}}</ref>{{sfn|Bradley|1951|p=182}} In recognition of his services in the field from March to June 1940, Alexander was again [[mentioned in dispatches|mentioned in despatches]].<ref name=MID35020>{{London Gazette| issue=35020| date=20 December 1940|page=7175}}</ref>

===United Kingdom 1940−1942===
After Dunkirk, Alexander returned to the United Kingdom and continued to command I Corps, now guarding the coasts of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lincolnshire]] as part of [[Northern Command (United Kingdom)|Northern Command]].<ref name=Heathcote16>{{Harvnb| Heathcote| 1999| p=16}}</ref> He was promoted acting [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-general]] in July 1940,<ref name="Lieutenant-general">{{London Gazette| issue=34899| date=16 July 1940|page=4415| supp=y}}</ref> and in December 1940 he was appointed to succeed [[Claude Auchinleck]] as [[General officer commanding|General Officer Commanding-in-Chief]] (GOC-in-C) of [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]], which was responsible for the defence of south-west England.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=42}}<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette| issue=35503| date=27 March 1942|page=1399}}</ref>{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|p=119}}{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=52}} His rank of lieutenant-general was made permanent in December 1940.<ref name=Heathcote16/> While he was here he came into contact with Lieutenant-General [[Bernard Montgomery]], who was then serving under his command as GOC of [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]]. Montgomery and Auchinleck had never seen eye-to-eye on much but Alexander, believing Montgomery, who had been one of Alexander's instructors at the Staff College in the mid-1920s, knew what he was doing, simply allowed Montgomery (or "Monty") to continue with what he was doing. The two men got along well and their relationship would continue in a similar manner later on in the war.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=42}}

It was during this period and most of 1941 where Alexander came to the attention of his superiors, the most notable among them being General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], then the [[Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces]] (and in December 1941 succeeding [[John Dill]] as [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Imperial General Staff]]), and [[Winston Churchill]], the Prime Minister. Churchill in particular became a great admirer of Alexander and visited him numerous times throughout 1941, nominating him as the commander of Force 110. Created on paper as the first expeditionary force since the BEF's evacuation from France the year before, Force 110 was considered for several projects throughout the year of 1941, such as landings in the [[Azores]], the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Sicily]], but these were, perhaps fortunately, all ultimately abandoned.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=42}}{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|pp=124−125}}

===Burma and India 1942===
[[File:The Campaign in North Africa 1940-1943- Personalities E16458.jpg|thumb|right|General Sir Harold Alexander, pictured here in August 1942 as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, surveys the battlefront from an open car. To his right is Major-General [[John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton|John Harding]].]]

On 1 January 1942 he was knighted and appointed a [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]],<ref name=LGazKCB>{{London Gazette| issue=35399| date=1 January 1942|page=3}}</ref> and in February, after the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese]] [[Burma Campaign|invasion of Burma]], was sent to [[British Raj|India]] to become GOC-in-C of British Forces in Burma as a full [[general (United Kingdom)|general]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name=":6">{{London Gazette| issue=35509| date=31 March 1942|page=1497| supp=y}}</ref> Alexander was unable to fulfil his orders to hold [[Rangoon]], which was abandoned on 6–7 March.<ref>Borth, Christy (1945). ''Masters of Mass Production''. pp. 218–219, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, IN.</ref> He took personal charge of some small local engagements,<ref name=Heathcote16/> and was encircled by the Japanese troops in the [[Battle of Yenangyaung]]. Rescued by Chinese troops commanded by General [[Sun Li-jen]], Alexander was able to escape. Following that, Alexander increasingly left much of the tactical conduct of the campaign to his corps commander, Lieutenant-General [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|William Slim]], while he himself handled the more political aspects of relations with [[Joseph Stilwell]], the nominal commander of the Chinese forces.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=43}} Alexander was promoted to [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] (C-in-C) of Allied Land Forces in Burma, March 1942, and ordered Slim to abandon [[Mandalay]] and retreat to India.<ref name=Heathcote16/>

===The Middle East and North Africa 1942−1943===
[[File:The Campaign in North Africa 1940-1943- Personalities E22271.jpg|thumb|left|The Prime Minister, [[Winston Churchill]], with military leaders during his visit to Tripoli in February 1943. The group includes: Lieutenant-General [[Oliver Leese|Sir Oliver Leese]], General Sir Harold Alexander, General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]] and General [[Bernard Montgomery|Sir Bernard Montgomery]].]]

By July 1942, the British and Indian forces in Burma had completed their fighting retreat into India, and Alexander, having yet again been mentioned in despatches for his Burma service,<ref name=MID35763>{{London Gazette| issue=35763| date=27 October 1942|page=4689| supp=y}}</ref> was recalled to the United Kingdom. He was at first selected to command the [[First Army (United Kingdom)|British First Army]], which was to take part in [[Operation Torch]], the Anglo-American invasion of [[French North Africa]]. However, following a visit in early August to [[Egypt]] by the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[Winston Churchill]], and the [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Imperial General Staff]] (CIGS), [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], Alexander flew to [[Cairo]] on 8 August to replace General [[Claude Auchinleck]], Alexander's predecessor at Southern Command in the United Kingdom, as C-in-C of [[Middle East Command]], the post responsible for the overall conduct of the [[Western Desert Campaign|campaign in the desert]] of North Africa. At the same time, Lieutenant-General Montgomery replaced Auchinleck as GOC of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]].{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=43}} Alexander presided over Montgomery's victory at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] and the advance of the Eighth Army to [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], for which Alexander was elevated to a [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]],<ref name=LGazGCB>{{London Gazette| issue=35782| date=10 November 1942|page=4917| supp=y}}</ref> and, after the Anglo-American forces of the First Army (under Lieutenant-General [[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)|Kenneth Anderson]]) from Operation Torch and the Eighth Army [[Tunisian Campaign|converged in Tunisia]] in February 1943, they were brought under the unified command of a newly formed [[18th Army Group]] headquarters, commanded by Alexander and reporting to [[General (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], the [[Supreme Allied Commander]] in the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theatre]] at [[Allied Force Headquarters|Allied Forces Headquarters]] (AFHQ).{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44}} The American General [[Omar Bradley]], who fought in the Tunisian campaign, then commanding the [[II Corps (United States)|U.S. II Corps]], credited Alexander's patience and experience with helping an inexperienced United States "field command mature and eventually come of age".<ref>{{Harvnb| Bradley| 1951| page=35}}</ref>

The [[Axis powers|Axis forces]] in Tunisia surrendered by May 1943, with some 250,000 Axis troops surrendering, the largest surrender yet in the war. Alexander telegraphed Churchill in response, stating:

{{Blockquote|Sir, it is my duty to report that the Tunisian campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the North African shores.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44}}{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|p=192}}}}

===Sicily and Italy 1943−1945===
{{See also|Italian campaign (World War II)}}

[[File:Allied leaders in the Sicilian campaign.jpg|thumb|right|Allied leaders of the Sicilian campaign in North Africa; (front row, left to right) [[General (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], [[Air chief marshal|Air Chief Marshal]] [[Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder|Sir Arthur Tedder]], General Sir Harold Alexander, [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Sir Andrew Cunningham]], (top row, left to right) [[Harold Macmillan]], [[Major General (United States)|Major General]] [[Walter Bedell Smith]] and unidentified British officers.]]

After the Tunisian campaign, Alexander's command became the [[15th Army Group]], which became responsible (under General Eisenhower) for mounting the July 1943 [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] (codenamed Operation Husky). Once again, Alexander directed two [[Field army|field armies]], both commanded by strong-willed characters who were not easy to control: General Montgomery's British Eighth Army and [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[George S. Patton]]'s [[Seventh United States Army|U.S. Seventh Army]]. The campaign did not portray Alexander at his best and he failed to grip his two commanders. Montgomery's Eighth Army found itself in a slogging match against typically skilful German opposition on the [[Plain of Catania|Catanian plain]] and on the slopes of [[Mount Etna]].{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44}} Patton, resentful in his belief that he and his Seventh Army had been given a secondary role in the campaign, confronted Alexander and successfully argued for his army to be allowed to drive to the northwest and to capture [[Palermo]]. Although initially reluctant to allow Patton such a role, Alexander eventually, but reluctantly, allowed the Seventh Army commander to have his way, although Palermo did not appear to have much strategic significance.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44}}{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|pp=202−203}} Despite this, it turned out to be the key to unlocking the Axis forces' defences and gave the Americans an easier route towards [[Messina]]. The brief campaign in Sicily proved largely successful, but some (with Montgomery among the loudest of the critics) believed that the campaign lacked direction - and blamed Alexander. Furthermore, although the Axis forces had been forced to withdraw from Sicily, they had managed to do so in relatively good order, crossing the [[Strait of Messina|Straits of Messina]] into Italy.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44}}

After Sicily, planning began for the [[Allied invasion of Italy]], which began on 3 September 1943 (the fourth anniversary of Britain's entry into the war). Montgomery's Eighth Army launched [[Operation Baytown]], crossing over into Calabria but initially facing little real opposition and slowly making its way up the Italian peninsula. Six days later the [[United States Army North|U.S. Fifth Army]] (which, despite its name, included the [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|British X Corps]] under Lieutenant-General [[Richard McCreery]], under its command) under Lieutenant General [[Mark W. Clark]] landed at Salerno as part of [[Operation Avalanche]], which, initially at least, started off well, before encountering heavy resistance and almost being thrown back into the sea.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=44−45}} He supported McCreery when he refused to consider evacuation plans that Clark had been considering. Alexander was also instrumental in convincing Clark to replace the [[VI Corps (United States)|U.S. VI Corps]] commander, Major General [[Ernest J. Dawley]] - who had not performed well and whom Alexander described as "a broken reed" - with Major General [[John P. Lucas]].{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|p=221}} Despite the heavy casualties sustained at Salerno, the Allies managed to force the Axis forces back and, with both the Fifth and Eighth Armies now united at last, began pursuing the retreating enemy. By December 1943 progress had virtually ground to a halt as the Axis had Alexander's 15th Army Group held up at the [[Winter Line]] (also known as the Gustav Line) and ground was gained only at the expense of heavy casualties.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}} At around this time there were numerous Allied command changes, with Montgomery handing over the Eighth Army to Lieutenant-General [[Oliver Leese|Sir Oliver Leese]] and departing for the United Kingdom to take up command of the [[21st Army Group]], which controlled all Allied land forces for the planned [[Normandy landings|invasion of Normandy]], whilst General [[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Wilson]] replaced Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean in January 1944.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}}{{sfn|Nicolson|1973|p=226}}

[[File:The British Army in Italy 1943 NA9857.jpg|thumb|left|General Sir Bernard Montgomery in his staff car with General Sir Harold Alexander and General Sir Alan Brooke, during an inspection of the [[8th Infantry Division (India)|8th Indian Infantry Division]] HQ, Italy, 15 December 1943]]

The fighting in Italy would continue to prove even more difficult for Alexander's forces over the following few months. Between January and May 1944, numerous Allied [[Battle of Monte Cassino|attacks were repulsed at Monte Cassino]] (which was also bombed in February 1944, with Alexander taking responsibility for the decision to bomb it) and the [[Battle of Anzio|Anzio landings]] of January 1944 by Lucas's U.S. VI Corps began well but did not live up to expectations and eventually ended up in a stalemate, like the rest of the Italian fighting so far. Alexander had a large part in planning the landings (code-named "Operation Shingle"), and intended to draw German strength away from the Winter Line and to cut their [[Line of communication|lines of communication]].{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}} The scheme was supported by Prime Minister Churchill, who had very high expectations for Shingle. However, the operation was flawed in many ways. In particular, Alexander's plan of seizing the [[Alban Hills]] might possibly have led to the entire Allied force (comprising only two infantry divisions, elements of the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Armored Division]], and other smaller units in support) being wiped out.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}} Despite Churchill's and Alexander's intentions, the Allied forces at Anzio did not achieve the somewhat unrealistic expectations, and were essentially cut off from any support, although they did manage to lure German reserves from elsewhere, which might otherwise have been available for service on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] or during the impending Allied invasion of Normandy.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}}

[[File:The British Army in Italy 1944 NA11881.jpg|thumb|right|General Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the 15th Army Group, talks to British and American officers at Anzio, Italy, 14 February 1944.]]

When Eisenhower was appointed in December 1943 as Supreme Allied Commander for the planned Normandy landings, he suggested that Alexander become ground-forces commander, as he was popular with both British and American officers. Omar Bradley (who had commanded U.S. II Corps in Sicily, and later the [[First United States Army|U.S. First Army]] and then the [[Twelfth United States Army Group|U.S. 12th Army Group]]) remarked that he would have preferred to work with Alexander rather than Montgomery, as he regarded the former as "a restrained, self-effacive and punctilious soldier". Of the problems that subsequently surfaced with Montgomery's command of the Anglo-Canadian [[21st Army Group]], Bradley suspected they would not have occurred with Alexander in command.<ref>{{Harvnb| Bradley| 1951| pages=207–208}}</ref> Brooke, however, applied pressure to keep Alexander in Italy, considering him unfit for the assignment in France.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=46}} Thus Alexander remained in command of the 15th Army Group, and, with the support of numerous Allied commanders, controversially authorised the [[Battle of Monte Cassino|bombing of the historic abbey at Monte Cassino]] (February 1944), which resulted in little advance on the German [[Winter Line]] defences, which had managed to halt the Allied advance in Italy. It was not until the fourth attempt that the Winter Line was breached by the Allies, and Alexander's forces moved on to capture [[Rome]] in June 1944, thereby achieving one of the strategic goals of the Italian campaign. However, the U.S. VI Corps, now under Major General [[Lucian Truscott]], in the Anzio beachhead, under U.S. Fifth Army commander Clark's orders, failed to follow their original break-out plan that would have trapped the [[10th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 10th Army]] escaping northwards in the aftermath of the Battle of Monte Cassino, instead favouring an early and highly publicised entry into [[Rome]] two days before the Allied landings in Normandy.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}} Although Alexander was angry at Clark for deliberately disobeying his specific orders in order to reach Rome first, he chose to say nothing, believing that it would do nothing for the Allied cause if he were to do so.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=45}}

[[File:The Second World War- Personalities TR2696.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, pictured here as [[Supreme Allied Commander]] of the Mediterranean Forces, at his Headquarters in the [[Palace of Caserta]], Italy]]

Alexander remained in command of the 15th Army Group, as well as of its successor, the [[Allied Armies in Italy]] (AAI), for most of the Italian campaign, until December 1944, when he relinquished his command to Clark and took over as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters, responsible for all military operations in the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theatre]]. Alexander was concurrently promoted to the rank of [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]],<ref name=Mead45>{{Harvnb| Mead|2007| p=45}}</ref> though this was backdated to the fall of Rome on 4 June 1944,<ref name=":7">{{London Gazette| issue= 36822| date= 1 December 1944|page=5551| supp=y}}</ref> so that Alexander would once again be senior to Montgomery, who had himself been made a field marshal on 1 September 1944, after the end of the [[Battle of Normandy]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36680|page=4055|date=29 August 1944|supp=y}}</ref>{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=60}}

Alexander received the German surrender in Italy on 29 April 1945. As a reward for his [[leadership]] in North Africa and Italy, Alexander, along with a number of other prominent British Second World War military leaders, was elevated to the [[peerage]] on 1 March 1946 by [[George VI|King George VI]]; he was created Viscount Alexander of [[Tunis]] and of [[Errigal]] in the [[County Donegal|County of Donegal]].<ref name=":8">{{London Gazette| issue=37407| date=28 December 1945 |page= 1| supp=y}}</ref>

[[File:The British Army in Italy 1944 NA14593.jpg|thumb|right|General Sir Harold Alexander with Major General [[Lucian Truscott]] and other senior Allied commanders at Anzio, Italy, 5 May 1944. Major-General [[John Hawkesworth (British Army officer)|John Hawkesworth]] is pictured on the far right wearing a [[Helmet Steel Airborne Troop|parachutist helmet]], and to the left of him is Major-General [[Philip Gregson-Ellis]].]]

Throughout the war, Alexander would attain a reputation for being empathetic and considerate, and a skilled mediator; however the extent to which he was able to come up with his own ideas versus relying on others would be a matter of debate. One historian would describe him as "Not a great soldier though he was a strategist of some insight", whilst [[B. H. Liddell Hart]] would describe him as "though highly intelligent with an open mind...fundamentally a lazy general", stating "he might have been a greater commander if he had not been so nice a man and so deeply a gentleman."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Churchill's generals |date=1992 |publisher=Warner |isbn=978-0-7515-0049-3 |editor-last=Keegan |editor-first=John |location=London}}</ref>

Brooke felt that Alexander needed an able [[chief of staff]] "to think for him",<ref name="G&B35-6">{{Harvnb| Graham| Bidwell| 1986| pp=35–6}}</ref> while Montgomery (Alexander's subordinate in North Africa, Sicily and Italy) claimed to think of Alexander as "incompetent" and believed that success was attained in Tunisia only because Montgomery lent Lieutenant-General [[Brian Horrocks]], the commander of [[IX Corps (United Kingdom)|IX Corps]] of Anderson's First Army, to organise the ''coup de grace''.<ref name="G&B35-6"/> However, [[Harold Macmillan]] (British Minister Resident in the Mediterranean from 1942 to 1945) was impressed by Alexander's calm and style - the general conducted dinners in his mess like those at an [[Oxbridge]] high table, discussing architecture and the campaigns of [[Belisarius]], rather than the current war.<ref name="G&B35-6"/> Macmillan thought Alexander's urbane manner and willingness to discuss and compromise were a sensible way to maintain inter-Allied cooperation, but Alexander's reserve was such that some thought him empty of strategic ideas and unable to make decisions.{{#tag:ref|The British diplomat [[David Hunt (diplomat)|David Hunt]], who, during the Second World War, served as an intelligence officer in Greece, North Africa and Italy, and who after the war was a member of the British Committee of Historians of the Second World War,<ref>{{Harvnb| Hunt| 1990| p=xxvi}}</ref>
wrote in his war memoirs of Alexander's "brilliant grasp of manoeuvre and deception" and "very sound understanding of the realities of military supply and administration".<ref>{{Harvnb| Hunt| 1990| p=xxv}}</ref> He also noted that Alexander was, by the almost universal judgement of "men of experience in senior stations", the "foremost British commander of the war". This was, to his personal knowledge, the case with three British prime ministers: [[Clement Attlee]], Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan.{{sfn| Hunt| 1990| pp=xxiv, xxv}} Hunt also quotes [[Omar Bradley]] as writing "He not only showed the shrewd tactical judgement that was to make him the outstanding general's general of the European war but was easily able to comport the nationally-minded and jealous Allied personalities of his command. In each successive Mediterranean campaign he had won the adulation of his American subordinates."{{sfn| Hunt| 1990| pp=xxv, xxvi}}|group=n}} Graham and Bidwell, however, wrote that Alexander's impenetrable reserve made it hard to judge whether or not he had any military ideas. They state that he was "unable or unwilling" to assert his will over his army commanders, and that Mark Clark, who often referred to Alexander scornfully as a "peanut" and a "feather duster", exploited this weakness.<ref name="G&B35-6"/>

==Governor General of Canada==
With the cessation of hostilities, Alexander was under serious consideration for appointment to the post of [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]], the British Army's most senior position beneath the sovereign. He was invited, though, by [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canadian prime minister]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] to be his recommendation to the King for the post of [[Governor General of Canada]]. Alexander thus chose to retire from the army and take up the new position, in anticipation of which he was on 26 January 1946 appointed [[Order of St Michael and St George|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]]<ref name=LGazGCMG>{{London Gazette| issue=37453 |date=1 February 1946 |page=767}}</ref> and created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, of Errigal in the County of Donegal, on 1 March.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37491 |date=5 March 1946 |page=1241 }}</ref> On 21 March 1946, the commission under the [[royal sign-manual]] and [[Seal (emblem)|signet]] appointing Alexander was issued.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/canada-gazette/093/001060-119.01-e.php?image_id_nbr=363348&document_id_nbr=9853&f=g&PHPSESSID=omradmq984eog5u83o6e6d5p06 |title=Canada Gazette, volume 80, number 16|date=20 April 1946| page= 2431|access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref> Alexander was subsequently sworn in during a ceremony in the [[Senate of Canada|Senate chamber]] on 12 April that year.<ref>{{Harvnb| Coucill| 1998| p=86}}</ref>
[[File:Alexander-arrives.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Viscount and Viscountess Alexander of Tunis are greeted by [[Prime Minister of Canada]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]] upon the viceregal couple's arrival in [[Ottawa]], 12 April 1946]]

Alexander took his duties as the viceroy quite seriously, feeling that as governor general, he acted as a connection between Canadians and their King, and spent considerable time travelling Canada during his term; he eventually logged no less than 294,500&nbsp;km (184,000&nbsp;mi) during his five years as governor general. On these trips, he sought to engage with Canadians through various ceremonies and events; he was keenly interested in his role as [[Scouts Canada#Organizational structure|Chief Scout of Canada]] and, in preparation for his kicking of the opening ball in the 1946 [[Grey Cup]] final, practised frequently on the grounds of the royal and viceregal residence, [[Rideau Hall]]. Also, in commemoration of Alexander being named the first non-aboriginal chief of the [[Kwakiutl]] tribe, he was given a [[totem pole]] on 13 July 1946; crafted by [[Mungo Martin]], it remains on the grounds of Rideau Hall today.<ref name=GGAlex/> By the end of the year, Alexander was also distinguished with his induction as a [[Order of the Garter|Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter]].<ref name=LGazKG>{{London Gazette| issue=37807| date=3 December 1946|page=5945| supp=y}}</ref>

In 1947, the King issued [[Letters Patent, 1947|letters patent]] granting his Canadian governor general permission to exercise all those powers belonging to the monarch in respect of Canada and, at the [[Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference]] of 1949, the decision was reached to use the term "member of the Commonwealth" instead of "[[Dominion]]" to refer to the non-British member states of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. That same year, Alexander oversaw the admission of the [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] (a dominion by name but not self-governing) into the [[Canadian Confederation]] and toured the new province that summer. Then, during a later visit to [[Alberta]], the Governor General was admitted to the [[Blackfoot]] tribe as Chief Eagle Head. However, though the post-war period saw a boom in prosperity for Canada, the country was again at war by 1950, with Alexander, in his role as acting [[Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces|commander-in-chief]], deploying to the [[Korean War]] soldiers, sailors, and airmen, whom he would visit prior to their departure for north-east Asia.<ref name=GGAlex/> In May 1951, as Commander-in-Chief of Canada, he was deemed a fitting inaugural recipient of the [[Canadian Forces' Decoration]], starting a long tradition of every governor general accepting the CD, usually shortly after their installation as the Sovereign's personal representative in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|page= 88|access-date= 14 December 2023|url= https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/dn-nd/D61-27-2010-eng.pdf |title=The Canadian Forces' Decoration}}</ref> 
[[File:Alexander-NFLD.jpg|thumb|right|In the Governor General's study at [[Rideau Hall]], Alexander (centre) receives for his signature the bill finalising the union of [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] and [[Canada]], 31 March 1949{{#tag:ref|The other figures present are (left to right) [[Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)|Leader of the Government in the Senate]] [[Wishart McLea Robertson]], [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Louis St. Laurent]], [[Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada|Speaker of the House of Commons]] [[Gaspard Fauteux]] and [[Speaker of the Senate of Canada|Speaker of the Senate]] [[James Horace King]].|group=n|name=Capt}}]]

Alexander travelled abroad on official trips—in 1947 visiting [[President of the United States|US president]] [[Harry S. Truman]] and in June 1948 [[President of Brazil|Brazilian president]] [[Eurico Gaspar Dutra]]—as well as hosting a number of dignitaries. The visit of the Irish [[Taoiseach]], [[John A. Costello]], in 1948 caused Alexander some embarrassment when Costello chose the occasion to announce that the state of [[Ireland]]<!---which has not been called the Irish Free State since the adoption of its 1937 constitution--->, which controlled most of the [[Island of Ireland]], would become the [[Republic of Ireland]] and would therefore leave the Commonwealth ([[Northern Ireland]] was not a part of the Irish state, but was rather a constituent part of the [[United Kingdom]], and would thus remain in the Commonwealth). Although the decision had been taken in principle earlier, the sudden announcement caused a diplomatic storm and Costello, to deflect criticism, claimed that he had been provoked into making the announcement by a series of diplomatic snubs by Lord Alexander. In his memoirs, Costello was to admit that Alexander's behaviour had in fact been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made to declare the [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book| last=McCullagh| first=David| title=Reluctant Taoiseach| publisher=Gill and Macmillan| year=2010| pages=207–212}}</ref>

The Alexanders' relatively informal lifestyle at [[Rideau Hall]] was demonstrated when during the Canadian tour of [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]] and her husband, [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|the Duke of Edinburgh]], the Viscount and Viscountess hosted a [[square dance]] in the palace's ballroom. Alexander painted (creating a personal studio in the former dairy at Rideau Hall and mounting classes in art at the [[National Gallery of Canada]]<ref name=GGAlex/>), partook in a number of sports (including [[golf]], [[ice hockey]], and [[rugby football|rugby]]), and enjoyed the outdoors, particularly during [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]]'s [[maple syrup]] harvest, himself overseeing the process on Rideau Hall's grounds.<ref name=GGAlex/> The Viscount was known to escape from official duties to partake in his most favourite pastime of [[fishing]], once departing from the 1951 royal tour of Princess Elizabeth to take in a day's fishing at Griffin Island, in [[Georgian Bay]], and granting a day off for students in the town of [[Drayton, Ontario]], where his train briefly stopped.<ref name=WA>{{Cite news| last=Thorning| first=Stephen| title=Valuing Our History| newspaper=The Wellington Adviser| url=http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/index.cfm?page=colDetail&itmno=245| access-date=26 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718031657/http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/index.cfm?page=colDetail&itmno=245| archive-date=18 July 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref> He presented the [[Alexander Cup]] to the [[Canadian Amateur Hockey Association]] in November 1950; the cup became the championship trophy of the Major Series of [[senior ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Alexander Trophy For Major Series|date=November 20, 1950|newspaper=Lethbridge Herald|location=Lethbridge, Alberta|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-20-1950-2117582/}}{{free access}}</ref>

Among Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment.<ref name=Mead46>{{Harvnb| Mead|2007| p=46}}</ref> He not only had a much praised military reputation (he was considered to be the best military strategist since [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|the 1st Duke of Wellington]]<ref name=WA/>) but also was a charismatic figure, with an easy ability to communicate with people.<ref name=GGAlex/> Others, however, did not fully approve of Alexander; editor Hugh Templin, from [[Fergus, Ontario]], met with Alexander during Templin's time as a special correspondent with the [[Canadian Press]] during the Second World War, and he said of the encounter: "Lord Alexander impressed us considerably, if not too favourably. He was an aristocratic type, who didn't like newspaper men."<ref name=WA/>

==British Minister of Defence==
Lord Alexander gave up the office of Governor General of Canada officially on 28 January 1952 after Churchill asked him to return to London to take the post of [[Minister of Defence (UK)|Minister of Defence]] in the British government.<ref name=Mead46 /> The aging Churchill had found it increasingly difficult to cope with holding that portfolio concurrently with that of prime minister, although he still took many major decisions himself, leaving Alexander with little real power.<ref>{{Harvnb| Heathcote| 1999| p=17}}</ref> George VI died on the night of 5–6 February and Alexander, in respect of the King's mourning, departed quietly for the United Kingdom, leaving [[Chief Justice of Canada]] [[Thibaudeau Rinfret]] as [[Administrator of the Government#Canada|administrator of the government]] in his place. After his return to the UK, Alexander was on 14 March 1952 elevated in the peerage by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming [[Earl Alexander of Tunis]], Baron Rideau of Ottawa and Castle Derg.<ref name=":9">{{London Gazette| issue=39491| date=14 March 1952|page=1468}}</ref> He was also appointed to the organising committee for [[Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II|the Queen's coronation]] and was charged with carrying the [[Sovereign's Orb]] in the state procession on that occasion in 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=39569| date=10 June 1952|page=3184}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=40020| date=17 November 1953|page=6243| supp=y}}</ref>

==Retirement==
Alexander served as British defence minister until 1954, when he retired from politics. In 1959 the Queen appointed Alexander to the [[Order of Merit]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=41589| date=30 December 1958|page=3| supp=y}}</ref> From 1960 to 1965, he served as [[Constable of the Tower of London]].<ref name="LG 5 August 1960" /> Alexander was an active [[freemason]].<ref>{{cite news
|url= http://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=12&new_day=10&new_year=2015
|title= Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis is born
|date= 10 December 2015
|work= Masonry Today
|access-date= 16 October 2017
|archive-date= 16 October 2017
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171016070520/http://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=12&new_day=10&new_year=2015
|url-status= live
}}</ref>

Canada remained a favourite second home for the Alexanders and they returned frequently to visit family and friends until Alexander died on 16 June 1969 of a perforated aorta.<ref name="Officers of the British Army" /> His funeral was held on 24 June 1969, at [[St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|St. George's Chapel]], in [[Windsor Castle]], and he was buried in St Margaret's churchyard at [[Ridge, Hertfordshire|Ridge]], near Tyttenhanger, his family's [[Hertfordshire]] home.<ref name=GGAlex />

==Marriage and children==
Alexander married [[Margaret Alexander, Countess Alexander of Tunis|Lady Margaret Bingham]], daughter of [[George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan]], on 14 October 1931. They had three children together and adopted a fourth:<ref>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999.</ref>

* Lady Rose Maureen Alexander (born 28 October 1932, died 21 August 2017)
* [[Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis|Shane William Desmond Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis]] (born 30 June 1935)
* [[The Honourable|Hon.]] Brian James Alexander, [[Order of St Michael and St George|CMG]] (born 31 July 1939)
* Lady Susan Mary Alexander (born 26 February 1948) (adopted)

==Titles, styles and honours==

=== Titles and styles ===

* 10 December 1891 – 1 March 1946: ''The Honourable'' Harold Alexander
* 1 March 1946 – 16 June 1969: ''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount Alexander of Tunis<ref name=":8" />
* 14 March 1952 – 16 June 1969: ''The Right Honourable'' The Earl Alexander of Tunis<ref name=":9" />

=== Military Ranks ===

* 23 September 1911: [[Second Lieutenant#United Kingdom and Commonwealth|Second Lieutenant]], [[Irish Guards]]<ref name=":0" />
* 5 December 1912: [[Lieutenant]], Irish Guards<ref name=":1" />
* 15 November 1914: Temporary [[Captain (United Kingdom)|Captain]], Irish Guards
* 7 February 1915: [[Captain (United Kingdom)|Captain]], Irish Guards<ref name=":2" />
* 1 August 1917: [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]], Irish Guards<ref name=":3" />
* 14 May 1922: [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]], Irish Guards<ref name=":4" />
* 14 May 1926: [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]], [[140th (4th London) Brigade|140th (4th London) Infantry Brigade]]
* 13 October 1934: [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]], [[Nowshera Brigade]]<ref name=":5" />
* 15 October 1937: [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]], Nowshera Brigade<ref name="Major-general" />
* 13 July 1938: [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]]<ref name="Lieutenant-general" />
* 17 January 1942: [[General (United Kingdom)|General]]<ref name=":6" />
* 4 June 1944: [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]<ref name=":7" />

==== Civilian appointments ====

* 12 April 1946 – 28 January 1952: [[Scouts Canada#Organizational structure|Chief Scout of Canada]]<ref>{{cite news |date=28 January 1960 |title=Deputy Chief Scout will visit Gibsons |url=http://historicalnewspapers.library.ubc.ca/view/collection/coastnews/date/1960-01-28#1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616013516/http://historicalnewspapers.library.ubc.ca/view/collection/coastnews/date/1960-01-28%231 |archive-date=16 June 2013 |access-date=11 May 2013 |newspaper=Coast News}}</ref>
* 1950: [[Blackfoot|Chief of the Blackfoot Tribe]]<ref name="gg" />
* 13 July 1946: [[Kwakiutl|Honorary Chief of the Kwakiutl Tribe]]<ref name="gg" />
* 29 January 1952: [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada|Member of the King's Privy Council for Canada]] (PC (Can))<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada: Dominion High Commissioners; use of suffix 'PC (Can)' (member of the Canadian Privy Council) and title 'Right Honorable'|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=8575861&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5|work=Records of the Privy Council and other records collected by the Privy Council Office|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]|access-date=3 June 2012|archive-date=20 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720014515/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=8575861&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1952: [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council]] (PC)
* 17 May 1957 – 1 April 1965: [[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=41072| date=17 May 1957|page=2934}}</ref>
* 1 April 1965 – 28 December 1966: [[Lord Lieutenant of Greater London]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=43616| date=2 April 1965|page=3297}}</ref>
* 1960–1965: [[Constable of the Tower|Constable of the Tower of London]]<ref name="LG 5 August 1960">{{London Gazette| issue=42110| date=5 August 1960|page=5372}}</ref>
* 1945: [[Freedom of the City|Freedom of the City of Manchester]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://confidentials.com/manchester/who-has-the-freedom-of-mcr|title=Who has been awarded the 'Freedom of Manchester'?|website=Confidentials|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-date=9 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909171036/https://confidentials.com/manchester/who-has-the-freedom-of-mcr|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 25 March 1946: [[Freedom of the City of London]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/fm-lord-alexander-receives-city-freedom-on-sleeve/query/Guildhall| title=FM Lord Alexander Receives City Freedom| year=1946| publisher=British Pathé| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=9 September 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909171032/https://www.britishpathe.com/video/fm-lord-alexander-receives-city-freedom-on-sleeve/query/Guildhall| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v5SlmFZBns| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/9v5SlmFZBns| archive-date=2021-12-11| url-status=live|title=Viscount Alexander receives the Freedom of the City (1946)|last=British Pathé|date=23 August 2021|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* [[Freedom of the City|Freedom of the City of Edinburgh]]<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19460309&id=u_wuAAAAIBAJ&pg=6131,1916254&hl=en| author=Canadian Press| title=Daily Visits To Canada House In London Paid By Viscount Alexander| date=12 March 1946| newspaper=Ottawa Citizen| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=9 September 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909171030/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19460309&id=u_wuAAAAIBAJ&pg=6131,1916254&hl=en| url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Military appointments ====
* 7 March 1936 – 19 November 1937: Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty the King (ADC)<ref name="LGazAdC" /><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34456|date=19 November 1937|page=7263}}</ref>
* 2 July 1937 – 14 August 1947: Colonel of the 3rd Battalion [[2nd Punjab Regiment]]<ref name="LGazColPun" />
* 20 July 1944 – 2 August 1946: [[Aide-de-Camp General]] to His Majesty the King (ADC General)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=36616| supp=y|date=18 July 1944|page=3379}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37673| supp=y|date=30 July 1946|page=3927}}</ref>
* 28 August 1946 – 16 June 1969: Colonel of the [[Irish Guards]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37739| supp=y|date=27 September 1946|page=4842}}</ref>
* 10 November 1949 – n/a: Colonel of the [[Royal Ulster Rifles]] (London Irish Rifles)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=38829| supp=y|date=3 February 1950|page=590}}</ref>
* 10 July 1951: Colonel of the [[Oxford University]] Contingent of the University Training Corps<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=39316| supp=y|date=24 August 1951|page=4487}}</ref>

=== Honorary degrees ===
{{Incomplete list|date=January 2016}}
* 22 May 1946: [[McGill University]], Quebec [[Doctor of Laws]] (LLD)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/files/secretariat/hon-alph.pdf|title=Honorary degrees|publisher=McGill University|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801140323/https://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/files/secretariat/hon-alph.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1946: [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]], Ontario [[Doctor of Laws]] (LLD)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.queensu.ca/registrar/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.uregwww/files/files/HDrecipients.pdf|title=Honorary degrees|publisher=Queen's University|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227133354/http://queensu.ca/registrar/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.uregwww/files/files/HDrecipients.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1946: [[University of Toronto]], Ontario Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Boards+and+Committees/Committee+for+Honorary+Degrees/degreerecipients1850tillnow.pdf| title=Honorary Degree Recipients 1850–2015| date=June 2015| publisher=University of Toronto| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=1 October 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001101642/http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Boards+and+Committees/Committee+for+Honorary+Degrees/degreerecipients1850tillnow.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>
* 13 May 1948: [[University of British Columbia]], Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/hdcites/hdcites2.html| title=The Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) Conferred at Congregation, October 31st, 1945| publisher=University of British Columbia| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=11 August 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811055334/http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/hdcites/hdcites2.html| url-status=live}}</ref>
* 21 March 1949: [[University of California Los Angeles]], Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQA5AQAAMAAJ&q=viscount+alexander+++Honorary+Degrees&pg=RA3-PA67| title=Register – University of California| volume=2| author=University of California, Berkeley| year=1950| page=67| publisher=University of California Press| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=9 September 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909171031/https://books.google.com/books?id=zQA5AQAAMAAJ&q=viscount+alexander+++Honorary+Degrees&pg=RA3-PA67| url-status=live}}</ref>
* 22 October 1949: [[University of Western Ontario]], Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{citation| url=https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/senate/honorary/honorary_degrees_by_year.pdf| title=Honorary Degrees Awarded 1881–Present| publisher=University of Western Ontario| access-date=6 January 2015| archive-date=13 March 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313171115/https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/senate/honorary/honorary_degrees_by_year.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1953: [[University of Liverpool]], Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{citation| url=https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/commsec/calendar/Honorary,Graduates,of,the,University.pdf| title=Honorary Graduates of the University| publisher=University of Liverpool| access-date=6 January 2016| archive-date=7 February 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207122338/https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/commsec/calendar/Honorary,Graduates,of,the,University.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 1955: [[University of Nottingham]], Doctor of Laws (LLD)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/registrar/documents/hon-deg-list-jan2017.pdf|title=Honorary degrees|publisher=Nottingham University|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301182411/https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/registrar/documents/hon-deg-list-jan2017.pdf|archive-date=1 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Unofficial ===
{{Flagicon|Canada|1921}} Alberta
* ''Chief Eagle Head''<ref name=gg>{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp| author=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of Tunis| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=11 May 2013| archive-date=19 August 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090320/http://archive.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp| url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Honorific eponyms ===
{{See also|Viceregal eponyms in Canada}}
Geographic locations
* {{flag|Ontario}}: [[Viscount Alexander Park]], [[Ottawa]]

Schools
* {{flag|Ontario}}: Viscount Alexander Public School, [[Ottawa]]<ref>{{cite web| last=Department of National Defence| title=Viscount Alexander Public School| work=National Inventory of Military Memorials| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=16 March 2008| url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8381| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521200402/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8381| url-status=dead| archive-date=21 May 2014| access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref>
* {{flag|Manitoba}}: École Viscount Alexander, [[Winnipeg]]

==Honours, decorations and arms==
Source:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Harold_Alexander_E010750678-v8.jpg|title=Photo of Harold Alexander}}</ref>
<div class= "center">
[[File:Order of the Bath UK ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Galó de l'Orde del Mèrit (UK).svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Dso-ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Military cross BAR.svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon.svg|100x100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - 1914 Star & Rosette.png|100px]]
[[File:British War Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - Victory Medal MID.png|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:India General Service Medal 1909 BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - Burma Star.png|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - Africa Star & Rosette.png|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:Ribbon - Italy Star.png|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - War Medal & MiD.png|100px]]
[[File:UK King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK King George VI Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:CAN Canadian Forces Decoration ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:CroixdeGuerreFR-BronzePalm.png|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order of Suvorov 106x30.png|100px]]
[[File:GRE Order of George I - Member or Silver Cross BAR.png|100px]]
[[File:GRE Order Redeemer 1Class.svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:US Legion of Merit Chief Commander ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR.png|100px]]
[[File:BEL Croix de Guerre WW1 ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:SMR Order of Saint Marinus - Grand Cross BAR.png|100px]]
[[File:Order of Tri Shakti Patta - ribbon bar.svg|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:Ordre du Nichan Iftikhar GC ribbon (Tunisia).svg|100px]]
[[File:Ordre de l'Ouissam Alaouite Officier ribbon (Maroc).svg|100px]]
[[File:BRA Ordem do Merito Militar Oficial.png|100px]]
[[File:BRA Campaign Medal.png|100px]]
<br/>
[[File:Order of the White Lion.svg|100px]]
[[File:Czechoslovak War Cross 1939-1945 Bar.png|100px]]
[[File:Croce di guerra al merito BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon bar of the Order of the Star of Africa.svg|100px]]
<br/>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|Ribbon || Description || Notes
|-
|N/A||[[Most Noble Order of the Garter]] (KG)||
Degree of Knight Companion
3 December 1946
|-
|[[File:Order of the Bath UK ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Most Honourable Order of the Bath]] (CB)||
Degree of Knight Grand Cross
11 November 1942
|-
|[[File:Galó de l'Orde del Mèrit (UK).svg|40px]]||[[Order of Merit]] (OM)|| 
Degree of Member
1 January 1959
|-
|[[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]] (GCMG)|| 
Degree of Grand Master
12 October 1967
|-
|[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|40px]]||[[Most Exalted Order of the Star of India]] (CSI)||
Degree of Companion
7 February 1936: 
|-
|[[File:Dso-ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Distinguished Service Order]] (DSO)||
Degree of Companion
20 October 1916
|-
|[[File:Military cross BAR.svg|40px]]|| [[Military Cross]] (MC)||
14 January 1916
|-
|[[File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem]]||| 
Degree of Knight of Justice, Prior, and Chief Officer
28 January 1952
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - 1914 Star & Rosette.png|40px]]||[[1914 Star]] with bar||
1917
|-
|[[File:British War Medal BAR.svg|40px]]||[[British War Medal]]||
1919
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - Victory Medal MID.png|40px]]||[[Victory Medal (United Kingdom)|Victory Medal]]||
Mentioned in Dispatches
1919
|-
|[[File:India General Service Medal 1909 BAR.svg|40px]]||[[India General Service Medal (1909)]]||
1935
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|40px]]||[[1939–45 Star]]||
1945
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - Burma Star.png|40px]]||[[Burma Star]]||
1945
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - Africa Star & Rosette.png|40px]]||[[Africa Star]] ||
With 1st Army Insignia
North Africa 1942-1943 Bar
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - Italy Star.png|40px]]||[[Italy Star]]||
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - War Medal & MiD.png|40px]]||[[War Medal 1939–1945]]|| 
Mentioned in Dispatches 1940 and 1942
|-
|[[File:UK King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[King George V Silver Jubilee Medal]]||
1935
|-
|[[File:UK King George VI Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[King George VI Coronation Medal]]||
1937
|-
|[[File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal]]||
1953
|-
|[[File:CAN Canadian Forces Decoration ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Canadian Forces' Decoration]] (CD) ||
|-
|[[File:Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Knight of the Legion of Honour]]||
|-
|[[File:CroixdeGuerreFR-BronzePalm.png|40px]]||[[Croix de Guerre]] with palm||
|-
|[[File:Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar.svg|40px]]||[[Order of St. Anna]]||Degree of Member Second Class with Swords
|-
|[[File:Order of Suvorov 106x30.png|40px]]||[[Order of Suvorov]]||Degree of Member First Class
|-
|[[File:GRE Order of George I - Member or Silver Cross BAR.png|40px]]||[[Royal Order of George I]]||Degree of Member Grand Cross
|-
|[[File:GRE Order Redeemer 1Class.svg|40px]]||[[Order of the Redeemer]]||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|[[File:POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR.svg|40px]]||[[Order Virtuti Militari]]|| Degree of Member Fifth Class
|-
|[[File:US Legion of Merit Chief Commander ribbon.png|40px]]||[[Legion of Merit]]||Degree of Chief Commander
|-
|[[File:U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Distinguished Service Medal]]||
|-
|[[File:European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]]||
|-
|[[File:BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR.png|40px]]||[[Order of Leopold II]]||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|[[File:BEL Croix de Guerre WW1 ribbon.svg|40px]]||[[Belgian Croix de guerre|Belgian Croix de Geurre]] with palm||
|-
|[[File:SMR Order of Saint Marinus - Grand Cross BAR.png|40px]]|| [[Order of San Marino]]||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|[[File:Order of Tri Shakti Patta - ribbon bar.svg|40px]]||[[Order of Tri Shakti Patta]]||Degree of Grand Cross
|-
|[[File:Ordre du Nichan Iftikhar GC ribbon (Tunisia).svg|40px]]||[[Order of Glory (Tunisia)|Order of Nichan Iftikhar]]||Degree of Grand Cordon
|-
|[[File:Ordre de l'Ouissam Alaouite Officier ribbon (Maroc).svg|40px]]||[[Order of Ouissam Alaouite]]||Degree of Officer
|-
|[[File:BRA Ordem do Merito Militar Oficial.png|40px]]||[[Order of Military Merit (Brazil)|Order of Military Merit]]||Degree of Officer
|-
|[[File:BRA Campaign Medal.png|40px]]||[[Campaign Medal (Brazil)]]||
|-
|[[File:Order of the White Lion.svg|40px]]||[[Order of the White Lion]]||
|-
|[[File:Czechoslovak War Cross 1939-1945 Bar.png|40px]]||[[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939]]||
|-
|[[File:Croce di guerra al merito BAR.svg|40px]]||[[War Merit Cross (Italy)|War Merit Cross of Italy]]||
|-
|[[File:Ribbon bar of the Order of the Star of Africa.svg|40px]]||[[Order of the Star of Africa]]||Degree of Grand Commander
|-
|}
</div>

===Arms===
{{Emblem table
| image = Coat of arms of Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis.svg
| imagesize = 250px
| crest = An arm in armour, embowed, the hand holding a sword proper, hilt and pommel or.
|escutcheon = Per pale argent and sable, a chevron, and in base a crescent, all counterchanged; on a canton azure a harp or stringed argent.
|supporters = ''Dexter'', A piper of the Irish Guards holding under the interior arm a bagpipe; ''Sinister'', A sepoy of the 3rd/2nd Punjabi Regiment supporting with the exterior arm a rifle proper; Each charged on the shoulder with an escutcheon barry nebuly of six argent and azure.
| motto =  “Per mare, per terre, per astra” (By sea, by land, by the stars).
|orders = The Most Noble Order of the Garter - Knight Companion (KG).<ref>{{cite book |title=Debrett's peerage and baronetage |date=2003 |page=29 |URL=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerageb0000unse_r0m8/page/n180/mode/1up}}</ref>
}}

==List of works==
* {{cite journal| last=Alexander| first=Harold| title=The African Campaign from El Alamein to Tunis, from 10 August 1942 to 13 May 1943| journal=London Gazette| issue=Supplement 38196| pages=839–887| publisher=[[King's Printer]]| location=London| date=3 February 1948| url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38196/supplements/839| access-date=22 March 2009}}
* {{cite journal| last=Alexander| first=Harold| title=Conquest of Sicily 10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943| journal=London Gazette| issue=Supplement 38205| pages=1009–1025| publisher=[[King's Printer]]| location=London| date=10 February 1948| url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38205/supplements/1009| access-date=22 March 2009}}
* {{cite journal| last=Alexander| first=Harold| title=The Allied Armies in Italy, from 3 September 1943 to 12 December 1944| journal=London Gazette| issue=Supplement 38937| pages=2879–2975| publisher=[[King's Printer]]| location=London| date=6 June 1950| url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38937/supplements/2879| access-date=22 March 2009}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Scouting}}
* [[Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of World War II]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="n"}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*{{cite book| last=Bradley| first=Omar N.| author-link=Omar Bradley| title=A Soldier's Story| url=https://archive.org/details/soldiersstory0000brad| url-access=registration| publisher=Henry Holt and Company| year=1951| location=New York| isbn=978-0-8371-7924-7}}
*{{cite book| last1=Graham| first1=Dominick| last2=Bidwell| first2=Shelford| title=Tug of War: the Battle for Italy 1943–5| publisher=Hodder & Stoughton| year=1986| location=London| isbn=1-84415-098-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Coucill|first=Irma|title=Canada's Prime Ministers, Governors General, and Fathers of Confederation|publisher=Stenhouse Publishing|year=1998|isbn=978-1551381145}}
*{{cite book| last1=Heathcote| first1=Tony| title=The British Field Marshals 1736–1997| publisher=Pen & Sword Books Ltd| year=1999| location=London| isbn=0-85052-696-5}}
*{{cite book| last=Hunt| first=David| author-link=David Hunt (diplomat)| title=A Don at War| url=https://archive.org/details/donatwar0000hunt| url-access=registration| location=Abingdon| publisher=Frank Cass| edition=Revised| orig-year=1st publ. 1966| year=1990| isbn=0-7146-3383-6}}
*{{cite book| first=Richard| last=Doherty| title=Ireland's Generals in the Second World War| author-link=Richard Doherty| isbn=9781851828654| year=2004| publisher=Four Courts Press}}
*{{cite book| last1=Jackson| first1=General W. G. F.| author1-link=William Jackson (British Army officer)| last2=Gleave| first2=Group Captain T. P.| editor-last=Butler| editor-first=J. R. M.|editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler|title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume VI: Part II – June to October 1944|series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series| orig-year=1st. pub. [[HMSO]] 1987| year=2004| location=Uckfield, UK| publisher=Naval & Military Press|isbn=1-84574-071-8|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last=Jackson|first=W. G. F.|author-link=William Jackson (British Army officer)|title=Alexander of Tunis, as Military Commander|year=1972|publisher=[[Dodd, Mead & Co.]]|isbn=978-0396064749}}
*{{cite book| last1=Keegan| first1=John|last2=Reid |first2= Brian Holden| title=Churchill's Generals| publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]] Military| year=1991| location=London| isbn=0-304-36712-5}}
*{{cite book| last=Mead| first=Richard| title=Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II| year=2007| publisher=Spellmount| location=Stroud| isbn=978-1-86227-431-0}}
*{{cite book| last1=Molony| first1=C. J. C.| last2=with Flynn| first2=F. C.| last3=Davies| first3=H. L.| first4=T. P.| last4=Gleave| editor-last=Butler| editor-first=J. R. M.| editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944| series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series| orig-year=1st. pub. HMSO 1973| year=2004| location=Uckfield, UK| publisher=Naval & Military Press| isbn=1-84574-069-6| name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book| first1=I. S. O.| last1=Playfair| author1-link=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair| first2=F. C.| last2=Flynn| last3=Molony| first3=C. J. C.| first4=T. P.| last4=Gleave| editor-last=Butler| editor-first=J. R. M.| editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler| series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume III: British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb (September 1941 to September 1942)| publisher=Naval & Military Press| year=2004| orig-year=1st. pub. [[HMSO]] 1960| isbn=1-84574-067-X| name-list-style=amp|ref=CITEREFPlayfair2004}}
*{{cite book| first=Nigel| last=Nicolson| title=Alex: The Life of Field Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis| author-link=Nigel Nicolson| isbn=0297765159| year=1973| publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson}}
*{{cite book| last1=Playfair| first1=I. S. O.| author1-link=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair| last2=Molony| first2=C. J. C.| last3=Flynn| first3=F. C.| last4=Gleave| first4=T. P.| editor-last=Butler| editor-first=J. R. M.| editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume IV: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa| series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series| orig-year=1st. pub. HMSO 1966| year=2004| location=Uckfield, UK| publisher=Naval & Military Press|isbn=1-84574-068-8| name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book| first=Nick| last=Smart| title=Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War| isbn=1844150496| year=2005| location=Barnesley| publisher=Pen & Sword}}
*{{cite book|last=Adrian|first=Stewart|title=The Campaigns of Alexander of Tunis, 1940–1945|year=2008|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|isbn=978-1399074650}}
*{{cite book| last=Wilson| first=John S.| title=Scouting Round the World| edition=1st| publisher=Blandford Press| year=1959| location=Poole| oclc=58863729}}
{{div col end}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-harold-alexander | the Earl Alexander of Tunis }}
{{Commons category|Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis}}
* [https://archive.today/20061009193413/http://www.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/alexander_e.asp Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Harold Alexander]
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/harold-alexander-1st-earl-alexander-of-tunis The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Harold Alexander]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/000340}}
*[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_A05.html#Alexander_HRLG British Army Officers 1939–1945]
*[http://www.generals.dk/general/Alexander/Harold_Rupert_Leofric_George/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Clement Armitage]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[1st (United Kingdom) Division|GOC 1st Infantry Division]]|years=1938–1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)|Kenneth Anderson]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Michael Barker (British Army officer)|Michael Barker]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[I Corps (United Kingdom)|GOC I Corps]]|years=June–December 1940}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Laurence Carr]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Claude Auchinleck|Sir Claude Auchinleck]]|rows=2}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|GOC-in-C Southern Command]]|years=1940–1942}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Charles Loyd|Sir Charles Loyd]]}}
|-
{{S-ttl|title=[[Middle East Command|C-in-C Middle East Command]]|years=1942–1943}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Wilson]]}}
|-
{{S-new|command}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[15th Army Group|C-in-C 15th Army Group]]|years=1943–1944}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Mark W. Clark|Mark Clark]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Wilson]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Allied Force Headquarters|Supreme Commander Allied Force Headquarters]]|years=1944–1945}}
{{S-non|reason=Post deactivated}}
|-
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|The Earl of Athlone]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor General of Canada]]|years=1946–1952}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vincent Massey]]}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan|The Earl of Cavan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Irish Guards|Colonel of the Irish Guards]]|years=1946–1969}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Basil Eugster|Sir Basil Eugster]]}}
|-
|-
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Winston Churchill]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Defence|Minister of Defence]]|years=1952–1954}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Harold Macmillan]]}}
|-
{{S-hon}}
{{S-bef |
 before = [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|The Viscount Alanbrooke]]}}
{{S-ttl |
 title = [[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London]] |
 years = 1956–1965}}
{{S-non |
 reason = County of London abolished}}
{{s-bef|before = [[E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|The Earl of Halifax]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Grand Masters of the Order of St Michael and St George|Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]]|years = 1959–1967}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|The Duke of Kent]]}}
{{S-bef |
 before = [[Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson|The Lord Wilson]]}}
{{S-ttl |
 title = [[Constable of the Tower|Constable of the Tower of London]] |
 years = 1960–1965}}
{{S-aft | rows=2 |
 after = [[Gerald Templer|Sir Gerald Templer]]}}
{{S-new}}
{{S-ttl |
 title = [[Lord Lieutenant of Greater London]] |
 years = 1965–1966}}
{{S-reg|uk}}
{{S-new|rows=2}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Earl Alexander of Tunis]]|years=1952–1969}}
{{S-aft|rows=2|after=[[Shane Alexander, 2nd Earl Alexander of Tunis|Shane Alexander]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Viscount Alexander of Tunis]]|years=1946–1969|lords=1946–1969}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors general of Canada}}
{{Secretaries of State for Defence}}
{{B-AotF-FM-MRAF-WW2}}
{{Third Churchill Ministry}}
{{Grand Masters of the Order of St Michael and St George}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Tunis, Harold Alexander, 1st Earl}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:Air raid on Bari]]
[[Category:Alexander family (British aristocracy)|Harold]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British field marshals of World War II]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Mohmand Campaign]]

[[Category:Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Chief Scouts of Canada]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Constables of the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Earls Alexander of Tunis|Harold]]
[[Category:English people of Ulster-Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)]]
[[Category:Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England]]
[[Category:Governors general of Canada]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of George I]]
[[Category:Irish Guards officers]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights of Justice of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of Greater London]]
[[Category:Lord-lieutenants of the County of London]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrow School]]
[[Category:People educated at Hawtreys]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari]]
[[Category:Younger sons of earls]]
[[Category:Viscounts created by George VI]]
[[Category:Earls created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War]]
[[Category:Baltische Landeswehr personnel]]