Harold Williams (British Army officer)
| Sir Harold Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 June 1897 County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 17 October 1971 (aged 74) Mussoorie, India |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom (1917–1956) India (1948–1956) |
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1917–1956 |
| Rank |
Lieutenant-General (Indian Army) Major-General (United Kingdom) |
| Commands held | Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Order of the Bath, Mentioned in Dispatches |
Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Williams KBE CB (1 June 1897 – 17 October 1971) was an Irish-born British-Indian Army officer, engineer and mountaineer.
Williams was born in County Cork and educated at Mountjoy School and Trinity College, Dublin.
He attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 28 September 1917. He was posted to India where he joined the 51st (Field) Company, Bengal Sappers and Miners. He served with the unit as part of the Aden Field Force after which he spent three years in Roorkee, first as Company Officer and finally as Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster, Bengal Sappers and Miners. He then took a supplementary engineering course at Cambridge University before returning to India in 1927. In 1933 he became an Instructor at the Rashtriya Indian Military College and three years later he became a Senior Instructor at Thomason Civil Engineering College (later the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee) where he continued until 1938.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, Williams was appointed Commander Royal Engineer, 1st Armoured Division and served in the Battle of France. He evaded capture and was evacuated from Le Havre in 1940. From 1941 to 1942 he was a staff officer. From 1943 to 1944 he was Chief Engineer, IV Corps, serving in Assam and the Burma Campaign during which he was mentioned in dispatches. In 1945 he was appointed Commandant at the School of Military Engineering, Roorkee. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 and on 15 December 1948 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier.
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