Page 147 - They Also Served

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Gerald Templer 1916.
Gerald Walter Robert Templer was
born in Colchester on 11th September
1898. Educated at Wellington College,
he entered Sandhurst on a shortened
wartime course. Despite being, on his
own admission, ‘an undistinguished
cadet’, he was commissioned in August
1916 into his father’s regiment, The
Royal Irish Fusiliers. After initial
service in Ireland, he joined the 7th/8th
(Service) Battalion on the Western
Front. On 20th March 1918, Templer was evacuated back to the UK with diphtheria and so missed the massive German offensive, resulting in 96% casualties in his unit. After his recovery, he rejoined the battalion, now full of teenage conscripts, as one of the oldest members.
Between the wars, he commanded a company in Palestine where he was awarded the DSO and was MiD. During the early part of the war, Templer served as a staff officer with the BEF in France and, after Dunkirk, raised and trained the 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. Promoted to command the 210 Independent Infantry Brigade, he came to the attention of Montgomery and was soon moved to command the 47th (London) Infantry Division. An inspirational trainer, he got the best out of conscript soldiers; however, on 13th April 1942, Templer attended the Warminster Firepower Demonstration. A young and inexperienced Canadian Hurricane pilot misidentified the target and strafed the watching staff – 25 men were killed and, while Templer took a bullet in the arm, the brigadier standing next to him was killed.
Promoted to command II Corps, he was now the youngest lieutenant-general in the army. However, he took the offer of a drop in rank to command a division on operations and led the 1st Infantry Division, then in reserve in Tunisia. However, having made his mark in refitting the formation for operations in Italy, he was posted to command the 56th (London) Infantry Division during the Salerno and Anzio landings. In July 1944, Templer took command of the 6th Armoured Division but was severely wounded by a landmine a few days later and spent the remainder of the war on staff duties.
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