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Julian Gascoigne

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Sir Julian Gascoigne
Governor Major-General Gascoigne in 1960
Governor of Bermuda
In office
1959–1964
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir John Woodall
Succeeded byLord Martonmere
Personal details
Born25 October 1903
Ashtead, Surrey, England
Died26 February 1990(1990-02-26) (aged 86)
Spouse
Joyce Newman
(m. 1928)
Children2
RelativesBamber Gascoigne (nephew)
OccupationStockbroker
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1923–1953
RankMajor-General
Service number27192
UnitGrenadier Guards
CommandsLondon District
201st Guards Motor Brigade
1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
Battles / wars
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

Major-General Sir Julian Alvery Gascoigne, KCMG, KCVO, CB, DSO, DL (25 October 1903 – 26 February 1990) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and became Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District. After retiring from the army, he worked as a stockbroker and then served as Governor and military Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda (an Imperial fortress that had been greatly diminished by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance) from 1959 to 1964.

Early life and education

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Gascoigne was born on 25 October 1903 at Ashtead Lodge, Ashtead, Surrey, England.[1] His father was Brigadier-General Sir Frederick Gascoigne, KCVO, CMG, DSO.[1] He was educated at Eton College, an all-boys public boarding school.[2]

Military career

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Gascoigne entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards in 1923.[2] From 1927 to 1928, he served as aide de camp to Sir Stanley Jackson, the then Governor of Bengal.[2] He was an instructor at Sandhurst in 1935,[2] and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1938 to 1939.[1]

During the early part of the Second World War, from 1939 to 1941, Gascoigne served as a staff officer in and around London.[1] He was Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards from 1941 to 1942, and of the 201st Guards Motor Brigade from 1942 to 1943.[1][2] He saw active service in Egypt, Syria, North Africa and Italy.[2] He fought at the Battle of Alamein, with the Eighth Army in Tunis, and in Salerno as part of the Allied invasion of Italy.[2] He was seriously wounded during fighting at Monte Camino in 1943, and was evacuated back to the UK where he spent time recuperating in hospital.[2][1] He was an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley from 1944 until the end of the war.[2]

After the war, he attended the Imperial Defence College in 1946.[1] From 1947 to 1949, he served as Deputy Commander of the British Joint Services Mission in Washington, D.C.[2] He was appointed Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and General Officer Commanding London District in 1950.[1] During his time as "The Major General", he oversaw the funeral of King George VI and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2]

Gascoigne retired from the army in 1953.[2]

Later career

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Gascoigne (right) with US President John F. Kennedy (centre) in Bermuda on 21 December 1961.

In retirement he worked as a stockbroker from 1955 to 1959 and was then Governor of Bermuda (combining the roles of civil Governor and military Commander-in-Chief of the Bermuda Command) from 1959 to 1964.[2] He hosted an important summit meeting in December 1961 between British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, following the erection of the Berlin Wall.[3]

Personal life

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By 1970 he was President of the Union Jack Club in London.[4]

In 1928, he married Joyce Newman.[1][5] Together, they had one son and one daughter.[1] He was an uncle of University Challenge host Bamber Gascoigne.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gascoigne, Maj.-Gen. Sir Julian (Alvery), (25 Oct. 1903–26 Feb. 1990), DL". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Higgon, Katharine (November 2007). "GASCOIGNE, Maj Gen Sir Julian Alvery". Liddell Hart Military Archives. King's College London. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  3. ^ Special Visitors Bermuda On-line
  4. ^ The Union Jack Club – 100 years on Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Lady Joyce Gascoigne (née Newman), Wife of Sir Julian Gascoigne". National Portrait Gallery.
  6. ^ "Special Coronation Edition". Television Newsreel. BBC. 2 June 1953. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
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Military offices
Preceded by GOC London District
1950–1953
Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel Commandant and President, Honourable Artillery Company
1954–1959
Succeeded by