Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, PC (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a British field marshal and the commander of British Army forces in the Middle East during World War II. He led British forces to victory over the Italians, only to be defeated by the German army. He was the penultimate Viceroy of India from 1943-47. Wavell was born in Colchester but spent much of his childhood in India. Wavell's f... more

Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, PC (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a British field marshal and the commander of British Army forces in the Middle East during World War II. He led British forces to victory over the Italians, only to be defeated by the German army. He was the penultimate Viceroy of India from 1943-47. Wavell was born in Colchester but spent much of his childhood in India. Wavell's father (Archibald Graham Wavell) was a major-general in the British Army and Wavell followed his father's career choice. Wavell attended the preparatory boarding school Summer Fields, near Oxford, Winchester College, where he was a scholar, seventh on the roll, and Sandhurst. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst Wavell was commissioned 8 May 1901 into the Black Watch and fought in the second Boer War. In 1903, he was transferred to India and fought in the Bazar Valley Campaign of February 1908. He was promoted to... less