Richard Gale (British Army officer)

Sir Richard Nelson Gale
Gale as GOC 6th Airborne Division, 10 June 1944.
Nickname(s)	Windy
Born	(1896-07-25)25 July 1896 Wandsworth, London, England
Died	29 July 1982(1982-07-29) (aged 86) Kingston upon Thames, London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1915–1957 1958–1960
Rank	General
Unit	Worcestershire Regiment Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Commands held	2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment 1st Parachute Brigade 6th Airborne Division I Airborne Corps 1st Infantry Division British Troops in Egypt Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War Operation Tonga
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross
Other work	Aide-de-camp (general) to Elizabeth II (1954–7), Colonel of the Worcestershire Regiment (1950–61), and Colonel-Commandant of the Parachute Regiment (1956–67).

First World War
Second World War

General Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale GCB KBE DSO MC (25 July 1896 – 29 July 1982) was a senior officer in the British Army who served in both world wars. In the First World War he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps. During the Second World War he served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division during the D-Day landings and Operation Tonga in 1944. After the end of the conflict, Gale remained with the Army and eventually became the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Gale was born on 25 July 1896 in London, England. The early years of his life were spent in Australia and New Zealand due to his father gaining employment in insurance, but the Gale family returned to England in 1906. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, a foundation school in the City of London, gaining an average academic record but becoming a prolific reader. After this, he attended further education at Aldenham School in Hertfordshire. For a time, he was a boarder at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon. When Gale left Aldenham he wanted to become an officer in the Royal Artillery, but did not possess the academic qualifications or physical grades required for entry into the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Instead he followed in his father's footsteps and gained employment as an insurance agent, but rapidly grew to dislike the job; determined to enter the British Army, he attended regular physical training classes and studied hard to improve his academic grades.