Chandos Blair
Sir Chandos Blair | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Chan" |
| Born | 25 February 1919 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 22 January 2011 (aged 91) Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1939–1976 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Service number | 85689 |
| Unit | Seaforth Highlanders |
| Commands | Scottish Command (1972–76) 2nd Division (1968–70) 4th Battalion, King's African Rifles |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross & Bar |
Lieutenant General Sir Chandos Blair KCVO, OBE, MC & Bar (25 February 1919 – 22 January 2011) was a senior British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding Scottish Command from 1972 to 1976.
Military career
Born the son of Arthur Blair and educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Blair was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Seaforth Highlanders on 26 January 1939.[1][2] He served in World War II with the 2nd and 7th Battalions of his regiment.[2] Serving with the 2nd Battalion, which formed part of the 51st (Highland) Division, in 1940, the battalion was forced to surrender at Dunkirk, and he became a prisoner of war at the Oflag V-B camp at Biberach in Baden-Württemberg.[3] He escaped to Switzerland and from there to Spain and to Gibraltar. As such he was the first officer to return home after escaping from a prisoner of war camp.[4] Blair was awarded the Military Cross for his exploits.[3] He later served with the 7th Battalion, Seaforths, which formed part of the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, and was with the battalion throughout the campaign in Northwest Europe, landing in Normandy shortly after D-Day in June 1944 and fighting until Victory in Europe Day almost exactly eleven months later.[4]
In 1959, he was appointed commanding officer of the 4th Battalion the King's African Rifles.[2] He was made General Officer Commanding 2nd Division in British Army of the Rhine in 1968 and then became Defence Services Secretary in 1970.[2] His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding Scotland and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1972; in that capacity, Prime Minister Harold Wilson dispatched him as a Special Envoy to secure the release of Denis Hills, a British subject held on spying charges by President Idi Amin of Uganda.[5] Blair retired in 1976.[2]
Family
In 1947 he married Audrey Mary Travers; they went on to have one son and one daughter.[2] His elder brother David was a useful amateur golfer and was best-man at the wedding of Chandos and Audrey.[6]
References
- ^ "No. 34593". The London Gazette. 27 January 1939. p. 609.
- ^ a b c d e f Debrett's People of Today (1994)
- ^ a b "Dunkirk POW", Glasgow Herald, 16 May 2010.
- ^ a b Obituary: Lieutenant-General Sir Chandos Blair KCVO OBE MC & Bar, soldier and GOC Scotland 1972–1976 The Scotsman, 26 January 2011
- ^ "Uganda: The British Must Kneel at My Feet!", Time, 7 July 1975.
- ^ "Marriages – Major C Blair and Miss A M Travers". The Times. 23 January 1947. p. 7.
- 1919 births
- 2011 deaths
- British Army lieutenant generals
- British Army personnel of World War II
- British escapees
- British World War II prisoners of war
- Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
- King's African Rifles officers
- Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at Harrow School
- Military personnel from Edinburgh
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Seaforth Highlanders officers
- World War II prisoners of war held by Germany