Edward Williams (British Army officer)

Brigadier Edward Stephen Bruce Williams CBE (2 November 1892 – 20 January 1977) was a distinguished British Army officer whose career spanned 35 years. He also an English cricketer. Williams was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm slow and who occasionally kept wicket.

Early life
Williams was born in Pinhoe, Devon, the son of Major-General Sir Hugh Bruce Williams and Mabel Heward. He was later educated at Winchester College. There he played for the college cricket team. Following this he undertook his military training at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, becoming a commissioned officer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 20 September 1911, and being assigned to The Rifle Brigade.

Military career
Williams received his first promotion on 17 April 1913, to that of a Lieutenant. With the start of the First World War in 1914, Williams initially served with the rifles in France and Belgium from August to October 1914. He spent a brief period time with the Royal Corps of Signals in April 1915. It was also in May 1915 that he was promoted to Captain, while seeing action in the Gallipoli Campaign. From October 1915 to March 1916, he served in Egypt. From the 14 March 1916 to June 1916, Williams was a General Staff Officer, 3rd grade with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. He returned to the Western Front in June 1916, where in the course of duty he was wounded twice. In 1917, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur and mentioned in dispatches to this degree. He returned to England in February 1918, where he was a Brigade Major in the Home Forces, where he ended the war.

He served shortly after the war in Iraq, where took part in military action to put down the Iraqi revolt against the British, for which he received a medal for. Two years later, in 1920, Williams was in charge of an Officer Company of Gentlemen Cadets at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, a role he undertook for four years. Williams continued with the training theme, when in January 1929 he undertook dueies as a General Staff Officer for weapon training at Aldershot Command. 1930 saw him promoted to Battalion Major, two years later he became a full major. 1930 also saw him take up a post which was to last four years with the Oxford University Contingent, Officer Training Corps. While undertaking the role he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, gaining the rank fully four years later in 1938. Williams served in Malta in 1937, in 1938 he became the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles Brigade. He went on to lead them in operations in British Palestine.

With World War II underway, 1940 saw yet another promotion for Williams, this time to the rank of Colonel. He served briefly from 22 to 31 January 1940 as the acting Commander of the 7th Support Group. In February 1940, he was promoted to Acting Brigadier and placed in command of the 182nd Infantry Brigade from February 1940 to July 1941. Williams was honoured in George VI's birthday honours, bestowing him a CBE which he received on 2 June 1943. In July 1941, Williams was a part of the Brigadier General Staff for Scottish Command, a role he held until 20 April 1943. Later in 1944, Williams became part of the Brigadier General Staff in the East Africa Command, a position he held from 14 February 1944 to 1946. Following the end of the war, Williams was granted the rank of Honorary Brigadier on 30 December 1946, the date of which he retired from active service.

Cricket
Williams was an able sportsman, taking a particular interest in cricket. Having played cricket for Winchester College in 1909 and 1910, it would not be until after the First World War that he would make his first-class debut. This came in 1922 for the Combined Services against Essex. He played cricket on a first-class level not only for the Combined Services, but also for the British Army, who he played for on 22 occasions, as well as captaining them in some matches. Williams was an able batsman, were it not for his military career it can be assumed he would have played county cricket to some degree. In 22 matches for the Army, he 1,630 runs at a batting average of 45.27, which made him one of the Army's stand out players of the twenties. He made three centuries and seven half centuries for the Army. Williams had two stand out first-class seasons with the bat, scoring 366 runs in five innings at an average of 73.20. In that season he scored his maiden double century against Oxford University when opening the batting in the Army first-innings. His other standout season came in 1928 when he scored 344 runs at an average of 114.66, including his second double century and highest first-class score of 228. This came for the Army against the Royal Navy.

Williams additionally played first-class cricket for the Free Foresters to some degree of success, in just three first-class matches for them he scored 220 runs an average of 44.00, with a single century score of 142. His highest score for the Foresters came against Oxford University in 1933. He also played a single first-class match for the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1933, against Oxford University. Outside of the first-class game, he played two Minor Counties Championship matches for Devon in 1930 against the Surrey Second XI and the Kent Second XI.

Personal life
Williams married Elizabeth Frances Chadwyck-Healey, daughter of Sir Charles Edward Heley Chadwyck-Healey, 1st Baronet on 14 April 1925. Elizabeth died in 1934, with the couple bearing no children. He later remarried with Evelyn Agnes Clay in 1938, the couple had four children; two sons and two daughters. One of their sons, David Arden Bruce Williams (1940–2007) was a Colonel in the Royal Green Jackets. Williams' father died in 1942, the London Gazette made note of Williams making a claim for part of his fathers estate.

Williams died in Winchester, Hampshire on 20 January 1977.