Leonard Arthur Hawes
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Leonard Arthur Hawes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 22 July 1892 Throcking, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 7 August 1986 (aged 94) Petersfield, Hampshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1911–1945 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Service number | 4767 |
| Unit | Royal Artillery |
| Commands | South Midlands District (1942–45) |
| Conflicts | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches Order of the Crown of Italy |
| Other work | Deputy lieutenant for West Sussex |
Major-General Leonard Arthur Hawes, CBE, DSO, MC, DL (22 July 1892 − 7 August 1986) was a senior officer in the British Army who was responsible for preparing the transport to France of the British Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the Second World War.[1][2]
Leonard Arthur Hawes was born on 22 July 1892 in Throcking, Hertfordshire. He was educated at Bedford Modern School[3] and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich,[1] from where he was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery in December 1911.[4]
Military career
Hawes served in the First World War during which he was wounded, mentioned in despatches, and awarded the Distinguished Service Order,[5] the Military Cross and the Order of the Crown of Italy.[1][6] In May 1915 he was appointed as a staff captain.[7] In October 1919 he relinquished his appointment of a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General and was again made a staff captain.[8]
Attending the Staff College, Camberley, from 1925 to 1926, Hawes was promoted to colonel in June 1938, with seniority backdated to January 1936, and appointed a GSO1 at the War Office.[9] He served as a major general during the Second World War.[1][10][11] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of British Empire in 1940,[12] and retired from the army in August 1945 with the honorary rank of major general.[13]
Hawes was made a deputy lieutenant for West Sussex in 1977, where he died on 7 August 1986.[1] His private papers, including an unpublished autobiography, are held by the Imperial War Museum.[14][15]