James Steele (British Army officer)

General Sir James Stuart Steele GCB KBE DSO MC LLD (26 October 1894 – 24 July 1975) was Adjutant-General to the Forces.

Military career
Born in Ballycarry, County Antrim and educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and at Queen's University, Belfast, James Steele was gazetted as a temporary second lieutenant in the Royal Irish Rifles in September 1914 and posted to the 7th Battalion. He served in France from 1915 to 1917. He served at the battles of Messines, Somme and at Passchendaele. He was given a regular commission in June 1916. He was mentioned in despatches in April 1917 and was awarded the MC in August 1917. Steele served the rest of the War in India and was mentioned in despatches again.

He attended the Staff College in Quetta, India in 1926. He was promoted to brevet Colonel and commanded the 1st Battalion The Sherwood Foresters from 1937 to 1939: the Regiment was deployed to Jamaica in 1937 and to Palestine 1939. He was promoted to Colonel in 1939.

In July 1939 Steele was posted to the mobilization branch of the War Office Staff. He signed the executive signal for the mobilization of the army. He took over command of 132nd Infantry (Surrey and Kent) Brigade in November 1939. He served in France and Belgium in 1940. He was awarded the DSO for his part in the engagement on the River Escaut and the subsequent withdrawal. He took command of the 59th Staffordshire Division in 1941. He commanded II Corps as acting Lieutenant General in 1942. He became Deputy Chief of Staff for Middle East Command in 1942. He was then appointed Director of Staff Duties at the War Office in 1943. He was promoted to Major General in 1944.

Steele was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1946. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief and High Commissioner in Austria in 1946. In that capacity he signed a treaty with Marshal Tito. He was promoted to General in 1947. He was Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1947 to 1950 when he retired from the British Army.

He was ADC General to the King in 1950.

He was awarded the CB in 1943, the KCB in 1949 and the GCB in 1950. He was also awarded the KBE in 1946.

Retirement
He received an honorary LLD from Queen's University, Belfast in 1947. He was Colonel Commandant of the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1947 to 1957. He was the President of the Army Benevolent Fund from 1954 to 1964. In 1966 he became Chairman of the Northern Ireland Government Somme committee. He lived in Blandford Forum, Dorset.

Family
He married Janet Gibson Gordon and together they went on to have two daughters.