William Slim

Field Marshal Sir William Slim

Field Marshal Sir William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (6 August 1897 - 14 December 1970), British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia, was born near Bristol, Gloucestershire.

At the outbreak of World War I, Slim was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was badly wounded at Gallipoli, and later served in France and Mesopotamia.

In 1919 Slim was given the rank of captain in the Indian Army, in which he served with Gurkha regiments until 1934. He taught at Camberley Military College from 1934 to 1937. In 1939 he was promoted to brigadier and became head of the Senior Officers' School at Belgaum, India.

On the outbreak of the World War II Slim was given command of the 10th Indian Brigade and sent to Sudan, from where he took part in the liberation of Ethiopia from the Italians. He was wounded again in Eritrea. He then joined the staff of General Archibald Wavell in the Middle East. Promoted to Major-General, he commanded British forces in Syria and Iran.

In March 1942, Slim was given command of all Allied troops in Burma, which was being attacked by the Japanese. Heavily outnumbered, he was soon forced to withdraw to India. In 1943 Slim attempted a counter-offensive but was rebuffed. After Lord Louis Mountbatten arrived to become head of the Southeast Asia Command, Slim became commander of the 14th Army.

In 1944 Slim successfully defended Assam against the last major Japanese offensive of the war. In early 1945 he launched his own offensive into Burma, and captured Mandalay in March. The Japanese then retreated, and Slim entered Rangoon on 3 May 1945.

After the war Slim became commander of Allied Ground Forces in Southeast Asia. In 1948 he returned to England where he became head of the Imperial Defence College and then Chief of the Imperial Staff. In 1953 he was knighted and promoted to Field Marshal, and accepted the post of Governor-General of Australia, without retiring from the Army. His correct title while Governor-General was therefore Field Marshal Sir William Slim.

Although public opinion in Australia was not as keen on British Governors-General as it had been before the war, Slim was a popular choice since he was an authentic war hero who had risen from the ranks, and because he had fought alongside Australians at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. In 1954 he was able to welcome Queen Elizabeth II on the first visit by a reigning monarch to Australia.

Slim's duties as Governor-General were entirely ceremonial and there were no controversies during his term. The Liberal leader Robert Menzies held office throughout Slim's time in Australia. In 1959 he retired and returned to Britain, where he published his highly acclaimed memoirs, Unofficial History and Defeat Into Victory. In 1960 he became 1st Viscount Slim. He died in London in December 1970.

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