Henry Royds Pownall

Sir Henry Pownall
Lieutenant General Sir Henry Pownall
Birth name	Henry Royds Pownall
Born	19 November 1887
Died	10 June 1961 (aged 73)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1906–1945
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Persia and Iraq Command Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon Far East Command
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches

Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Royds Pownall, KCB, KBE, DSO & Bar (19 November 1887 – 10 June 1961) was a senior British Army officer who held several important command and staff appointments during the Second World War. In particular, he was Chief of Staff to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium until the fall of France in May 1940. He was later Chief of Staff to General Archibald Wavell until the fall of Singapore in 1942, and Chief of Staff to Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1943–44.

Pownall was born on 19 November 1887 and received his education at Rugby School and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. After graduating he began his military service with the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, during which he was stationed in both Britain and India 1906–1914. In 1909 he was promoted to lieutenant, and then captain in 1914.

During the First World War, Pownall served in both France and Belgium. He was promoted to major in 1917 and oversaw the Royal Artillery, 17th Division. For his service during the war Pownall was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918.