William Gott | |
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Nickname(s) | "Strafer" |
Born | Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England | 13 August 1897
Died | 7 August 1942 near Alexandria, Egypt | (aged 44)
Buried | Alamein Memorial, El Alamein, Egypt |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1915–1942 |
Rank | Lieutenant-general |
Service number | 1798 |
Unit | King's Royal Rifle Corps |
Commands | XIII Corps (1942) 7th Armoured Division (1941–42) 2nd Support Group (1941) 7th Support Group (1940–41) 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1938–39) |
Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire[1] Distinguished Service Order & Bar[2][3] Military Cross[4] Mentioned in despatches |
Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott, CB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (13 August 1897 – 7 August 1942), nicknamed "Strafer", was a senior British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general while serving with the British Eighth Army in the Western Desert and North Africa from 1940 to 1942. In August 1942 he was appointed as successor to General Claude Auchinleck as commander of the Eighth Army but, on the way to take up his command, he was killed when his plane was shot down. His death led to the appointment of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery in his place.