Douglas Wimberley
Encyclopedia
Major-General
Douglas Neil Wimberley CB
, DSO
, MC
(15 August 1896 - 26 August 1983) was commander of the 51st (Highland) Division
at the Second Battle of El Alamein
in World War II
and lead it across North Africa to Sicily
.
A career soldier, he became an officer during the First World War on the Western Front, serving as a staff and line Officer in many parts of the British Empire
in the interwar years, before rising to the command of the unit which would make his name in the Middle East.
After the war he served as the Principal of University College, Dundee
before retiring and writing his memoirs.
, the son of Surgeon-Captain (later Colonel) Charles Neil Campbell Wimberley, and Minnie Lesmoir Gordon, daughter of R.J. Wimberley.
Wimberley was educated at Alton Burn, Nairn
, Wellington College
and then the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
in 1915. On the Western Front
he served first with the 1st Division and then with the 51st (Highland) Division
. During his period with the Highland Division he was wounded and won the Military Cross
at the Battle of Cambrai (1917).
In 1918 Wimberley was promoted acting and temporary major and dispatched to Russia
and in 1919 was attached to the Machine Gun Corps
. In 1921 Wimberley served as the Assistant Adjutant of the Cameron Highlanders
stationed at Queenstown
during the Irish War of Independence
. Wimberley's battalion was regarded by the brigade-major of the parent Cork Brigade, a certain Bernard Law Montgomery to be the best troops available to act as a "flying column" to round up rebels. 1922 saw Wimberley made an adjutant of the 2nd Camerons
. Two years later he gained distinction in promotion examinations and was allowed to spend a year at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
.
Following his studies, Wimberley went on to the Staff College, Camberley
in 1925, where he was a student of a class of instructors who would lead the British Army
to victory in the next war, such as Montgomery and Alan Brooke, with fellow students as august as Harold Alexander, Miles Dempsey
, Oliver Leese
, Gerald Templer
. On 29 April of that year, he married Elsye Myrtle Livingston, daughter of Captain F.L. Campbell RN of Achalader
, Perthshire
. With her he had one son and one daughter.
After his marriage the still-young Wimberley's peacetime career progressed steadily. In 1929 he was appointed brigade-major of the 1st Gurkha Brigade
which was involved in operations on the North West Frontier Province a year later. In 1933 he was promoted brevet major, the same year that he won the Army Quarterly military prize for an essay on recent military campaigns.
He served as a GSO2 at the War office
for four years before returning to an active command in 1938 when he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 1st Cameron Highlanders
, which he commanded until the outbreak of war a year later.
, as part of the 5th Brigade
, 2nd Division
, I Corps. In December 1939 Wimberley was made GSO1 and Chief Instructor at the Senior Officers' School
at Sheerness
, so missing the hostilities in France. In August 1940 he was promoted brigadier and in quick succession he commanded the 13th Brigade
, the 152nd Seaforth and Cameron Brigade and as acting major-general, the 46th Division. In June 1941, after only a month at 46 Division, he took command of the 51st (Highland) Division
at the specific request of his predecessor, Neil Ritchie
, who had been his divisional commander when leading the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade and who was being posted to the Middle East.
The 51st (Highland) Division was a very different formation from that which he had been a part of in the previous war. Formerly, the division had been forged over successive battles in the trenches. The division which he now commanded was in reality the untried 9th (Highland) Division
, the sister Territorial Force division to the 51st, which had been renumbered after the latter's surrender in France, June 1940. The division as it stood would not be able to fight as a unit, and Wimberley, now major-general made a successful effort to instill a sense of esprit de corps in the unit. He refused "sassenach
" troops for his brigades and battalions whilst "poaching" Scottish troops from other units, and appealed to his men's Scottish patriotism by encouraging the wearing of their respective tartans as much as possible, for which he was dubbed "Tartan Tam". The only non-highland unit was 1/7 Middlesex Regiment because there was no machine gun battalion in the British Army which recruited exclusively in Scotland. At the same time training was not neglected. The results would manifest themselves in action.
In August 1942 the division arrived in Egypt to join the Eighth Army. It went into the line on 17 September as part of XXX Corps as the new Eighth Army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery prepared for the offensive which would defeat the Axis forces in North Africa. In October and November the Division figured prominently in the "break-in" and "crumbling phase" of the Battle of Alamein
and actions round Kidney Ridge. Before the battle Wimberley had briefed his COs with a model of the battlefield and instructed them to repeat their tasks as he had shown them, so as to ensure the unity of the division's battle plan.
Before and during the battle, Wimberley had become a familiar sight touring the divisional areas, an incongruous spectacle in his jeep with his knees nearly reaching head height. During the battle Wimberley's jeep was blown up by a mine, killing two of the occupants but only badly shaking Wimberley himself. He often paused to assist troops carrying out work or briefed individual privates so as to make them better understand the part which they were to play. Therefore, the casualties suffered by Eighth Army, amounting to nearly a quarter of the infantry force, caused Wimberley to comment "never again". Having observed in the closing stages of the battle an assault by his Highlanders which had gone in without an artillery barrage, he wrote:
Known, trusted and respected by Eighth Army commander Montgomery, Wimberley fought his division across North Africa and into Tunisia fighting at Mareth
, Medinine
, Akarit and Enfidaville, and Adrano. In 1942 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
for his actions.
The pace of the pursuit of Erwin Rommel
- the fear of another battle of attrition like Alamein - began to tell. In his unpublished memoirs, Wimberley wrote of the Battle of El Agheila
:
To Wimberley was entrusted the task of taking Buerat and opening the way to Tripoli
, before supplies ran out over a tenuous chain of communication, so fast had the Eighth Army advanced. Having opened the way to the city - the first major Axis prize to fall in the whole of the War so far - Wimberley's achievement went un-recognised by Montgomery, who accused him of "dilatoriness". Wimberley forgave all during the Battle of Medenine
, however, when he wrote "I felt grateful, and thought, again, what a wonderful little commander I was serving under, in Monty."
In July 1943 Wimberley led the Highland Division during the Allied invasion of Sicily
. The division was involved in heavy fighting until gradually being relieved in August by 78th Infantry Division. Despite the renowned fighting ability and reputation of the 51st, Montgomery decided after the Sicily in August 1943 that Wimberley, showing tiredness after two years in command, should be removed from divisional command. Whilst Montgomery judged him unsuitable for Corps command, he recommended Wimberley to his mentor and friend General Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, for the position of Commandant at the Staff College, Camberley
, a recommendation which was accepted. In December 1944 he was appointed Director of Infantry, his last appointment in the British Army
which he held until his resignation in October 1946, when it became clear that with Montgomery having become CIGS, he would progress no higher in the army.
. The University of St Andrews, steeped in tradition and jealous of its academic reputation refused to allow the academic expansion of its sister college which led to agitation in Dundee
for the independence of the Dundee College. Wimberley attempted to expand University College whilst at the same time not undermining the parent University, and its principal, Sir James Irvine
.
Without much academic power, Wimberley sought to give the College the same esprit de corps with which he had invigorated the 51st (Highland) Division. He worked as closely with the staff and students of the college as he had with the officers and men of his division. He continually made efforts to improve facilities and conditions and to give the young institution its own traditions, he instituted a ceremonial university service at the local parish kirk.
In 1947 he wrote the "Wimberley Memo", which set the scene for the parting of ways between the University of St Andrews, and the former University College, Dundee. In honour of this event, the University of Dundee
awards annually the Wimberley Award to the student who has contributed most to university life.
In 1954, University College, was replaced by Queen’s College Dundee. The post of Principal of University College was replaced by the new role of Master of Queen’s College. Wimberley was not considered for this new position and left the University. Having retired, he took up genealogy
and lived with his wife in the town of Coupar Angus
, Perthshire
. From 1951 to 1961 he was colonel of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
. In 1973, Wimberley collated his papers and diaries into a five-volume autobiography called Scottish Soldier. This unpublished memoir was deposited by the general in the National Library of Scotland
.
He died at Foxhall, Coupar Angus, on 26 August 1983. He is survived by his son Neil Wimberley, who lives with his wife in Foxhall, and daughter Lesmoir Edington living near Gladsmuir in East Lothian, Scotland.
His name lives on in Dundee with the Wimberley Houses, Dundee University student accommodation by Ninewells Hospital. The University of Dundee
Archive Services also hold his papers relating to his time as Principal of University College.
|-
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Douglas Neil Wimberley CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(15 August 1896 - 26 August 1983) was commander of the 51st (Highland) Division
British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II)
For the First World War unit, see 51st Division .The 51st Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division that fought during the Second World War...
at the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and lead it across North Africa to Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
.
A career soldier, he became an officer during the First World War on the Western Front, serving as a staff and line Officer in many parts of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
in the interwar years, before rising to the command of the unit which would make his name in the Middle East.
After the war he served as the Principal of University College, Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
before retiring and writing his memoirs.
Early life and career
Douglas Wimberley was born on 15 August 1896 at 8 Ardross Terrace, InvernessInverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, the son of Surgeon-Captain (later Colonel) Charles Neil Campbell Wimberley, and Minnie Lesmoir Gordon, daughter of R.J. Wimberley.
Wimberley was educated at Alton Burn, Nairn
Nairn
Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
, Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
and then the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
in 1915. On the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
he served first with the 1st Division and then with the 51st (Highland) Division
British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)
The 51st Division was a British Territorial Force division that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after the...
. During his period with the Highland Division he was wounded and won the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
at the Battle of Cambrai (1917).
In 1918 Wimberley was promoted acting and temporary major and dispatched to Russia
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
and in 1919 was attached to the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
. In 1921 Wimberley served as the Assistant Adjutant of the Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders may mean:* The Highlanders , infantry regiment in the Scottish Division of the British Army* The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces...
stationed at Queenstown
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. Wimberley's battalion was regarded by the brigade-major of the parent Cork Brigade, a certain Bernard Law Montgomery to be the best troops available to act as a "flying column" to round up rebels. 1922 saw Wimberley made an adjutant of the 2nd Camerons
Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders may mean:* The Highlanders , infantry regiment in the Scottish Division of the British Army* The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces...
. Two years later he gained distinction in promotion examinations and was allowed to spend a year at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
.
Following his studies, Wimberley went on to the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
in 1925, where he was a student of a class of instructors who would lead the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
to victory in the next war, such as Montgomery and Alan Brooke, with fellow students as august as Harold Alexander, Miles Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...
, Oliver Leese
Oliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
, Gerald Templer
Gerald Templer
Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954...
. On 29 April of that year, he married Elsye Myrtle Livingston, daughter of Captain F.L. Campbell RN of Achalader
Achalader
Achalader is a settlement in the Scottish council area of Perth and Kinross.Achalader is situated 3 miles to the west of Blairgowrie, to the north of the A923 road....
, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
. With her he had one son and one daughter.
After his marriage the still-young Wimberley's peacetime career progressed steadily. In 1929 he was appointed brigade-major of the 1st Gurkha Brigade
Brigade of Gurkhas
The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of...
which was involved in operations on the North West Frontier Province a year later. In 1933 he was promoted brevet major, the same year that he won the Army Quarterly military prize for an essay on recent military campaigns.
He served as a GSO2 at the War office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
for four years before returning to an active command in 1938 when he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 1st Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders may mean:* The Highlanders , infantry regiment in the Scottish Division of the British Army* The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces...
, which he commanded until the outbreak of war a year later.
World War II
The first year of the Second World War saw Wimberley take his battalion to FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, as part of the 5th Brigade
British 5th Infantry Brigade
The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular British Army formation from the First World War to disbandment in 1999.- History :During both World War I and the Second World War the 5th Brigade was part of the 2nd Infantry Division. It served in France in 1940, was evacuated to Britain from Dunkirk and...
, 2nd Division
British 2nd Infantry Division
The 2nd Division is a regular division of the British army, with a long history. It dates its existence as a permanently embodied formation from 1809, when it was established by Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley , as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War...
, I Corps. In December 1939 Wimberley was made GSO1 and Chief Instructor at the Senior Officers' School
Senior Officers' School
The Senior Officers' School is a British military establishment established in 1920 for the training of Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-service cooperation...
at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
, so missing the hostilities in France. In August 1940 he was promoted brigadier and in quick succession he commanded the 13th Brigade
British 13th Infantry Brigade
The 13th Infantry Brigade was a regular British Army formation during the Second World War.-History:This brigade was part of the British Expeditionary Force sent to France in 1940. After the retreat from France the 13th Brigade was involved in the landings on Vichy held French Madagascar in 1942...
, the 152nd Seaforth and Cameron Brigade and as acting major-general, the 46th Division. In June 1941, after only a month at 46 Division, he took command of the 51st (Highland) Division
British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II)
For the First World War unit, see 51st Division .The 51st Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division that fought during the Second World War...
at the specific request of his predecessor, Neil Ritchie
Neil Ritchie
General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, KStJ was a senior British army officer during the Second World War.-Military career:...
, who had been his divisional commander when leading the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade and who was being posted to the Middle East.
The 51st (Highland) Division was a very different formation from that which he had been a part of in the previous war. Formerly, the division had been forged over successive battles in the trenches. The division which he now commanded was in reality the untried 9th (Highland) Division
British 9th (Highland) Infantry Division
The 9th Infantry Division was a second line Territorial Army formation at the beginning of the Second World War. After the surrender of the 51st Highland Division in 1940, the 9th Division, a replica of the 51st Division, was reorganised as the new 51st Infantry Division...
, the sister Territorial Force division to the 51st, which had been renumbered after the latter's surrender in France, June 1940. The division as it stood would not be able to fight as a unit, and Wimberley, now major-general made a successful effort to instill a sense of esprit de corps in the unit. He refused "sassenach
Sassenach
Sassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots to designate an Englishman. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, "Saxon", from the Latin "Saxones"; it was also formerly applied by Highlanders to Lowlanders. As employed by Scots or Scottish English-speakers today it is...
" troops for his brigades and battalions whilst "poaching" Scottish troops from other units, and appealed to his men's Scottish patriotism by encouraging the wearing of their respective tartans as much as possible, for which he was dubbed "Tartan Tam". The only non-highland unit was 1/7 Middlesex Regiment because there was no machine gun battalion in the British Army which recruited exclusively in Scotland. At the same time training was not neglected. The results would manifest themselves in action.
In August 1942 the division arrived in Egypt to join the Eighth Army. It went into the line on 17 September as part of XXX Corps as the new Eighth Army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery prepared for the offensive which would defeat the Axis forces in North Africa. In October and November the Division figured prominently in the "break-in" and "crumbling phase" of the Battle of Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
and actions round Kidney Ridge. Before the battle Wimberley had briefed his COs with a model of the battlefield and instructed them to repeat their tasks as he had shown them, so as to ensure the unity of the division's battle plan.
Before and during the battle, Wimberley had become a familiar sight touring the divisional areas, an incongruous spectacle in his jeep with his knees nearly reaching head height. During the battle Wimberley's jeep was blown up by a mine, killing two of the occupants but only badly shaking Wimberley himself. He often paused to assist troops carrying out work or briefed individual privates so as to make them better understand the part which they were to play. Therefore, the casualties suffered by Eighth Army, amounting to nearly a quarter of the infantry force, caused Wimberley to comment "never again". Having observed in the closing stages of the battle an assault by his Highlanders which had gone in without an artillery barrage, he wrote:
Known, trusted and respected by Eighth Army commander Montgomery, Wimberley fought his division across North Africa and into Tunisia fighting at Mareth
Operation Pugilist
Operation Pugilist was an Allied operation in Tunisia during the Second World War. In his General Plan, General Bernard Montgomery stated "...the object of operation Pugilist is to destroy the enemy now opposing Eighth Army in the Mareth position, and to advance and capture Sfax." Pugilist itself...
, Medinine
Operation Capri
The Battle of Medenine, also known as Operation Capri, was a German counter-attack at Medenine, Tunisia, intended to disrupt and delay the 8th Army's attack on the Mareth Line. The German attack started on 6 March 1943, failed to make much impression and was abandoned at dusk on the same day...
, Akarit and Enfidaville, and Adrano. In 1942 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for his actions.
The pace of the pursuit of Erwin Rommel
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
- the fear of another battle of attrition like Alamein - began to tell. In his unpublished memoirs, Wimberley wrote of the Battle of El Agheila
Battle of El Agheila
The Battle of El Agheila was a minor engagement in North Africa during the Second World War. It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces led by Bernard Law Montgomery and Axis forces led by Erwin Rommel, during the Axis' long withdrawal from El Alamein to Tunis...
:
To Wimberley was entrusted the task of taking Buerat and opening the way to Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, before supplies ran out over a tenuous chain of communication, so fast had the Eighth Army advanced. Having opened the way to the city - the first major Axis prize to fall in the whole of the War so far - Wimberley's achievement went un-recognised by Montgomery, who accused him of "dilatoriness". Wimberley forgave all during the Battle of Medenine
Operation Capri
The Battle of Medenine, also known as Operation Capri, was a German counter-attack at Medenine, Tunisia, intended to disrupt and delay the 8th Army's attack on the Mareth Line. The German attack started on 6 March 1943, failed to make much impression and was abandoned at dusk on the same day...
, however, when he wrote "I felt grateful, and thought, again, what a wonderful little commander I was serving under, in Monty."
In July 1943 Wimberley led the Highland Division during the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. The division was involved in heavy fighting until gradually being relieved in August by 78th Infantry Division. Despite the renowned fighting ability and reputation of the 51st, Montgomery decided after the Sicily in August 1943 that Wimberley, showing tiredness after two years in command, should be removed from divisional command. Whilst Montgomery judged him unsuitable for Corps command, he recommended Wimberley to his mentor and friend General Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, for the position of Commandant at the Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army from 1802 to 1997, with periods of closure during major wars. In 1997 it was merged into the new Joint Services Command and Staff College.-Origins:...
, a recommendation which was accepted. In December 1944 he was appointed Director of Infantry, his last appointment in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
which he held until his resignation in October 1946, when it became clear that with Montgomery having become CIGS, he would progress no higher in the army.
Post-war
Upon leaving the army Wimberley became principal of University College, Dundee, which was at the time a constituent college of the University of St AndrewsUniversity of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. The University of St Andrews, steeped in tradition and jealous of its academic reputation refused to allow the academic expansion of its sister college which led to agitation in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
for the independence of the Dundee College. Wimberley attempted to expand University College whilst at the same time not undermining the parent University, and its principal, Sir James Irvine
James Irvine
James Irvine may refer to:* James Irvine , politician, Vice-President of Pennsylvania* James Irvine , chemist and Principal of the University of St Andrews...
.
Without much academic power, Wimberley sought to give the College the same esprit de corps with which he had invigorated the 51st (Highland) Division. He worked as closely with the staff and students of the college as he had with the officers and men of his division. He continually made efforts to improve facilities and conditions and to give the young institution its own traditions, he instituted a ceremonial university service at the local parish kirk.
In 1947 he wrote the "Wimberley Memo", which set the scene for the parting of ways between the University of St Andrews, and the former University College, Dundee. In honour of this event, the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
awards annually the Wimberley Award to the student who has contributed most to university life.
In 1954, University College, was replaced by Queen’s College Dundee. The post of Principal of University College was replaced by the new role of Master of Queen’s College. Wimberley was not considered for this new position and left the University. Having retired, he took up genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
and lived with his wife in the town of Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated eight kilometres south of Blairgowrie.The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife...
, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
. From 1951 to 1961 he was colonel of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
. In 1973, Wimberley collated his papers and diaries into a five-volume autobiography called Scottish Soldier. This unpublished memoir was deposited by the general in the National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
.
He died at Foxhall, Coupar Angus, on 26 August 1983. He is survived by his son Neil Wimberley, who lives with his wife in Foxhall, and daughter Lesmoir Edington living near Gladsmuir in East Lothian, Scotland.
His name lives on in Dundee with the Wimberley Houses, Dundee University student accommodation by Ninewells Hospital. The University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
Archive Services also hold his papers relating to his time as Principal of University College.
Further reading
- Scottish Soldier by Major-General D.N. Wimberley. Unpublished memoir in the possession of the NLSNational Library of ScotlandThe National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
. - Monty: A Personal Memoir by Major-General D.N. Wimberley. Unpublished memoir.
External links
(in Volume 59 of print edition)|-