Edgar Williams
| Sir Edgar "Bill" Williams | |
|---|---|
"Bill" Williams
|
|
| Birth name | Edgar Trevor Williams |
| Born |
29 November 1912 Chatham, Kent |
| Died | 26 June 1995 (aged 82) Oxford |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Rank | Brigadier |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Other work |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in dispatches (3) |
Brigadier Sir Edgar "Bill" Williams CB CBE DSO (29 November 1912 – 26 June 1995) was a British Army officer who played a significant role in the Second Battle of El Alamein in World War II. He was a Fellow of Balliol College and Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford, and Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography.
Edgar Trevor Williams was born on 29 November 1912, the son of a clergyman. He was educated at Tettenhall College, Staffordshire and then at King Edward VII School in Sheffield from 1928 to 1931. He obtained a Postmastership at Merton College, Oxford, and took a First in History in 1934. After a lectureship at Liverpool University he returned to Merton in 1937 as a junior research fellow.
Williams was Chief of Intelligence to General Montgomery in his North African Campaign against the German army under Rommel in 1942. In his memoirs (1958, Da Capo) Montgomery describes how Williams pointed out a crucial weakness in the deployments of the German and Italian troops, exploited in the decisive Second Battle of El Alamein. Williams remained with Montgomery as his Intelligence Chief for the rest of the war. He was mentioned in despatches three times during the war, as well as being awarded the DSO in 1943, appointed CBE in 1944 and CB in 1946.
...
Wikipedia