Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis

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The Right Honourable Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, KG, GCB, GCMG, CSI, GCVO, DSO, MC, PC (10 December 1891–16 June 1969) was a British military commander and Field Marshal, notably during the Second World War as the commander of the 15th Army Group. He later served as the last British Governor General of Canada.

**Field Marshal The Earl Alexander of Tunis**

Rank:	17th Governor General of Canada
Term of Office:	April 12, 1946 - February 28, 1952
Predecessor:	The Earl of Athlone
Successor:	Vincent Massey
Birth:	December 10, 1891
Place of Birth:	London, England
Death:	June 16, 1969
Spouse:	Lady Margaret Alexander
Profession:	Officer
Religion:	Anglican

1 Military career
2 Governor General of Canada
3 Later career
4 Reference

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Military career

The third son of the 4th Earl of Caledon and the former Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler, a daughter of the 3rd Earl of Norbury, he was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Irish Guards in 1911. During the First World War he served on the Western Front and was wounded twice. He received the Military Cross in 1915, the Distinguished Service Order in 1916, and the Legion of Honour, and by 1918 was a Brigadier.

Between the wars Alexander led the Baltic Landwehr in Latvia during the Russian Civil War and served in Turkey and Gibraltar before returning to England and the Staff College at Camberley and the Imperial Defence College. On 14 October 1931, he married Lady Margaret Bingham, second daughter of the 5th Earl of Lucan. In 1937 he was promoted to Major-General and joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France in 1939.

He was instrumental in controlling the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk, and was the last British soldier to leave. After that he was promoted and sent to Burma at the beginning of that disaster. In August 1942 Winston Churchill sent him, as Commander in Chief Middle East, and General Bernard Montgomery as Commander Eighth Army, to North Africa to replace General Claude Auchinleck who had held both positions. He presided over Montgomery's victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. After the Anglo-American forces from Torch and the Eighth Army met in Tunisia in January 1943, he became deputy to Dwight Eisenhower and Supreme Allied Commander of Allied Armies in Italy. He was Eisenhower's preference to command D-Day but Churchill pressured to keep him in Italy. An American general, Mark Clark, despite being ordered not to by Alexander, captured Rome in 1944 thereby allowing the bulk of the German forces to escape northwards. He received the German surrender in Italy on 29 April 1945.

Sir Harold Alexander was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis, of Errigal in the County of Donegal, in 1946 for his leadership in North Africa and Italy. In December 1946 he was made a Knight of the Garter and was created Baron Rideau, of Ottawa and of Castle Derg in the County of Tyrone, and Earl Alexander of Tunis in 1952.

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Governor General of Canada

After the war Alexander was Governor General of Canada (1946-1952), and was a popular choice among the Canadian population. In addition to his military reputation, Alexander had a charismatic gift for making friends and communicating with people. This made him a popular and successful Governor General. He took his duties seriously – indeed, when he was asked to kick the opening ball in the 1946 Grey Cup final, he spent a number of early mornings practising.

He saw his role as a vital link between Canadians and their head of State, and was eager to convey that message wherever he went. He travelled Canada extensively, eventually logging more than 184,000 miles during his five years as Governor General.

On his first major visit to western Canada, he was presented on 13 July 1946 with a totem pole made by Kwakiutl carver Mungo Martin, to mark his installation as an Honorary Chief of the Kwakiutl, the first white man to be so honoured. The totem pole remains a popular attraction on the front lawn of Rideau Hall. During a later visit in 1950, he was made Chief Eagle Head of the Blackfoot Indians.

Alexander's term — the post-WWII years — was an era of change for Canada. The post-war economy boomed in Canada, and a new prosperity began. In Letters Patent of 1947, King George VI gave the Governor General all of His Majesty's powers and authorities in respect of Canada. The document continues to be the source of the Governor General's powers today. In 1949, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference, the decision was made to use the term "member of the Commonwealth" instead of "Dominion".

That same year, Newfoundland entered Confederation, and Alexander visited the new province that summer. But by 1950, Canada was once again embroiled in war, as Canadian Forces fought in Korea against Communist North Korea and the People's Republic of China. Alexander visited the troops heading overseas to give them his personal encouragement.

Alexander hosted various dignitaries, including Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, who came to Canada for a Royal Tour in October 1951, less than two years before the Princess would become Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. Lord and Lady Alexander hosted a square dancing party which the Princess and the Duke attended. Alexander also travelled abroad on official trips, visiting President Truman in the United States in 1947, and paying a State visit to Brazil in June 1948.

Generally, though, Lord and Lady Alexander led an informal lifestyle. He was an avid sportsman, enjoying fishing, golf, ice hockey and rugby. Fond of the outdoors, he enjoyed attending the harvest of maple syrup in Ontario and Quebec, and personally supervised the tapping of the maple trees on the grounds of Rideau Hall. He was also a passionate painter, and in addition to setting up a studio for himself in the former dairy which still stands today at Rideau Hall, he organised art classes at the National Gallery of Canada. Lady Alexander became an expert weaver while in Canada, and had two looms in her study.

Alexander encouraged education in Canada. Many Canadian universities gave him honorary degrees, and he was also appointed an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Harvard and Princeton Universities in the United States.

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Later career

In early 1952, after his term was extended twice, Lord Alexander left the office of Governor General, after Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, asked him to return to London to take the post of Minister of Defence. He was temporarily replaced by an administrator (Chief Justice Thibaudeau Rinfret) prior to the appointment of diplomat Vincent Massey as the new Governor General.

Lord Alexander served as Minister of Defence until 1954, at which point he retired from politics.

Canada remained a favourite second home of the Alexanders, and they returned often to visit family and friends.

Lord Alexander of Tunis died in 1969. His funeral was held on 24 June 1969 at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, and his remains are buried in the churchyard of Ridge, near Tyttenhanger, his family's Hertfordshire home. Lady Alexander died in 1977.

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