# Edward Colville

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{{Short description|British Army general (1905–1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [Major-General](/source/Major-general_(United_Kingdom))
| name             = Edward Colville
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CB|DSO1|DL}}
| birth_date       = 1 September 1905
| birth_place      = [St George Hanover Square](/source/St_George_Hanover_Square), London, England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1982|1|10|1905|9|1}}
| death_place      = [Stoughton, West Sussex](/source/Stoughton%2C_West_Sussex), England
| spouse           = {{marriage|Barbara Joan Denny|1934}}
| image            = 
| caption          = 
| nickname         = 
| module           = {{Infobox military person
| embed            = yes
| allegiance       = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch           = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| service_years    = 1925–1959
| service_number   = 33658
| rank             = [Major-General](/source/Major-general_(United_Kingdom))
| current position = 
| commands         = 2nd Battalion, [Gordon Highlanders](/source/Gordon_Highlanders)<br/>[227th Infantry Brigade](/source/227th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom))<br/>[128th Infantry Brigade](/source/Hampshire_Brigade)<br/>{{nowrap|[51st (Highland) Infantry Division](/source/51st_(Highland)_Division)}}
| unit             = [Gordon Highlanders](/source/Gordon_Highlanders)
| battles          = {{tree list}}
*[Second World War](/source/World_War_II)
**[North West Europe](/source/North_West_Europe_campaign)
*[Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency)
{{tree list/end}}
| awards           = {{nowrap|[Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)}}<br/>[Distinguished Service Order & Bar](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order)<br/>[Mentioned in dispatches](/source/Mentioned_in_dispatches)
| other_work       = 
}}
}}

[Major-General](/source/Major-general_(United_Kingdom)) '''Edward Charles Colville''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CB|DSO1|DL}} (1 September 1905 – 10 January 1982) was a senior [British Army](/source/British_Army) officer. He commanded a brigade during [Operation Plunder](/source/Operation_Plunder), the crossing of the [Rhine](/source/Rhine), in March 1945 during the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II). He both planned and executed his brigade's successful attack. After serving as Chief of Staff at Headquarters [Far East Land Forces](/source/Far_East_Land_Forces) in June 1954 during the [Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency), he spent three years as General Officer Commanding [51st (Highland) Division](/source/51st_(Highland)_Division) in a home defence role.

==Military career==
Born the son of Admiral [Sir Stanley Colville](/source/Stanley_Colville)<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FGZmAAAAMAAJ|title=Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry|page=200|volume= 1|first= Bernard|last= Burke|year=1965}}</ref> and Adelaide Jane Meade, Colville was educated at [Marlborough College](/source/Marlborough_College) and commissioned into the [Gordon Highlanders](/source/Gordon_Highlanders) on 3 September 1925.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33081|date=4 September 1925|page=5837}}</ref><ref name=THG>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9-p4upLOHf8C|title=Territorial and Home Guard Magazine|volume=24–25|year=1955|page=8|publisher=Territorial Publications|access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref>

Colville served for two years from 1932 to 1934 as [aide-de-camp](/source/aide-de-camp) to [Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough](/source/Vere_Ponsonby%2C_9th_Earl_of_Bessborough) who was at that time officiating as [Governor-General of Canada](/source/Governor-General_of_Canada).<ref name=THG/><ref name=tele>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/187208645/|title=Obituary: Major-General E. C. Colville|newspaper=The Telegraph|year=1982|access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref> In July 1934, towards the end of his tour in Canada, Colville spent nine days on an [Atlantic salmon](/source/Atlantic_salmon) fishing trip with four other Canadian officials, including the governor-general, on the [Jupiter River](/source/Jupiter_River) on [Anticosti Island](/source/Anticosti_Island), in the [Minganie Regional County Municipality](/source/Minganie_Regional_County_Municipality) of [Quebec](/source/Quebec). He later contributed to a book that the five officials wrote and published about their experiences on the river.<ref name=fly>{{cite web|url=http://www.amff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Fall-TAFF-2021-web.pdf|title=Who Was Baldemec? The Unraveling of a Pen Name|first= Ken|last= Callahan|publisher=The American Fly Fisher: the Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing |volume=47 |page=3|year=2021|access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref>{{efn|The five officials on the trip were Bessborough, [Alan Lascelles](/source/Alan_Lascelles), [Viscount Duncannon](/source/Frederick_Ponsonby%2C_10th_Earl_of_Bessborough), Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Dighton Mackenzie, and Edward Colville. They wrote and published under the collective pen name "Baldemec", taken from their initials.<ref name=fly/>}}

Colville was then appointed [adjutant](/source/adjutant) of the Gordons on 18 November 1937.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=7264|issue=34456|date=19 November 1937}}</ref> Participating in the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), Colville was promoted from [captain](/source/captain_(British_Army_and_Royal_Marines)) to [major](/source/major_(British_Army_and_Royal_Marines)) on 3 September 1942.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35690|page=3856|date=1 September 1942}}</ref> He became commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, in September 1943.<ref name=THG/><ref name=tele/> Part of the [227th Infantry Brigade](/source/227th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)), he led the battalion ashore on 18 June 1944 to fight in the [Normandy Campaign](/source/Normandy_Campaign).{{sfnp|Martin|1948|p=357}}

Colville assumed command of the 227th Brigade,<ref name=tele/> as a [temporary](/source/temporary_rank) [brigadier](/source/brigadier_(United_Kingdom)), when on 15 July 1944 Brigadier [John Mackintosh-Walker](/source/John_Mackintosh-Walker) was killed in an attack on his [scout car](/source/scout_car); on 19 October Colville was appointed a [Companion of the Distinguished Service Order](/source/Companion_of_the_Distinguished_Service_Order) (DSO) for his actions with the Gordon Highlanders in the campaign.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36753|date=17 October 1944|supp=y|page=4785}}</ref>{{sfnp|Martin|1948|p=69}}<ref>{{London Gazette|page=4785|supp=y|issue=36753|date=17 October 1944}}</ref>

Colville was closely involved in [Operation Plunder](/source/Operation_Plunder), the crossing of the [Rhine](/source/Rhine), near [Xanten](/source/Xanten) in March 1945. He planned the 227th Brigade's attack, codenamed "Operation Nap", to assault with 10th Battalion, [Highland Light Infantry](/source/Highland_Light_Infantry) on the right and 2nd Battalion, [Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders](/source/Argyll_and_Sutherland_Highlanders) on the left, aiming to seize the villages of Overkamp and [Lohr](/source/Lohr%2C_Bas-Rhin) respectively. The 2nd Battalion [Gordon Highlanders](/source/Gordon_Highlanders) would then cross and relieve the other two battalions, which would in turn advance to take the villages of Bellinguoven and Wisshof.<ref name="auto">Saunders (2006), p. 159; for wider context, pp. 143−161</ref><ref name="delaforce">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RgUkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT181 |title=Onslaught on Hitler's Rhine Operations Plunder and Varsity, March 1945|first= Patrick |last=Delaforce|year= 2017|publisher=Fonthill Media|page=181|isbn=978-1781554418}}</ref> Colville led the brigade during the subsequent chaotic{{efn|Some of Colville's tracked [landing vehicles](/source/Landing_Vehicle%2C_Tracked) became stuck in the mud on the far side, and his troops came under heavy fire leading to many casualties. His [forward observation post](/source/forward_observation_post) was wiped out and one his battalions suffered over 100 casualties.<ref name=delaforce/>}} but completely successful river crossing,<ref name="auto"/><ref name="delaforce"/> which was crucial for the Allied advance into Germany. It has been described by ''Warfare History Network'' as the "Greatest Assault River Crossing of All Time".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-plunder-crossing-the-rhine/|title=Operation Plunder: Crossing the Rhine|publisher=Warfare History Network|date=1 August 2013|access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref>

Towards the end of the campaign, on 30 April, Colville negotiated the surrender of the German city of [Geesthacht](/source/Geesthacht), including a store of [V-1 flying bomb](/source/V-1_flying_bomb) fuel and [poison gas](/source/poison_gas).{{sfnp|Martin|1948|p=333}} For his command of the brigade he received a [bar](/source/medal_bar) to the DSO on 10 May and was [mentioned in despatches](/source/mentioned_in_despatches) on 4 April 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37072|date=8 May 1945|supp=y|page=2451}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|page=1697|supp=y|issue=37521|date=2 April 1946}}</ref>

After the war Colville became Defence adviser in [Canada](/source/Canada) in December 1946,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://generals.dk/general/Colville/Edward_Charles/Great_Britain.html |title=Colville, Edward|publisher=Generals of World War II|access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref> was promoted to [colonel](/source/colonel_(United_Kingdom)) on 31 March 1949, and in November was appointed commander of the [128th Infantry Brigade](/source/Hampshire_Brigade), moving to become Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) at [British Army of the Rhine](/source/British_Army_of_the_Rhine) in June 1952.<ref name="commands">{{cite web|url=https://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf|title=Army Commands|access-date=20 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|page=5828|supp=y|issue=38778|date=9 December 1949}}</ref> Promoted to substantive brigadier on 1 September 1953,<ref>{{London Gazette|page=368|supp=y|issue=40074|date=15 January 1954}}</ref> he was further advanced to temporary [major-general](/source/major_general_(United_Kingdom)) on 29 June 1954, and appointed to serve as Chief of Staff at Headquarters [Far East Land Forces](/source/Far_East_Land_Forces) during the [Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency).<ref name="commands"/><ref>{{London Gazette|page=4231|supp=y|issue=40233|date=16 July 1954}}</ref> Promoted to substantive major-general on 7 July 1955, for his services in the Far East Colville was appointed a [Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) on 25 October.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=5555|supp=y|issue=40598|date=30 September 1955}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=40613|date=25 October 1955|supp=y|page=5965}}</ref> He relinquished his post in Malaya on 15 January 1956,<ref>{{London Gazette|page=751|supp=y|issue=40703|date=3 February 1956}}</ref> and in March received his final posting as General Officer Commanding [51st (Highland) Division](/source/51st_(Highland)_Division), which was a [Territorial Army](/source/Territorial_Army_(United_Kingdom)) unit in a home defence role. He retired on 12 April 1959.<ref name="commands"/><ref>{{London Gazette|page=2418|supp=y|issue=41679|date=10 April 1959}}</ref>

In retirement Colville served as a [deputy lieutenant](/source/deputy_lieutenant) of [West Sussex](/source/West_Sussex)<ref name=unit>{{cite web|url=https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_C02.html|title=Colville, Edward Charles|publisher=Unit Histories|access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=42719|date=29 June 1962|page=5192}}</ref> but also had a home at Balformo House near [Scone](/source/Scone%2C_Scotland) in [Perthshire](/source/Perthshire).<ref name=kelly>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bT9H5ORTROIC|title=Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed & Official Classes|year=1962|page=687|publisher=Kelly & Co.}}</ref>

Colville died in January 1982, aged 76.<ref name=tele/>

==Family==
In 1934, Colville married Barbara Joan Denny; they had one son and two daughters.<ref name=unit/><ref name=kelly/>

==Works==
*{{cite book|author=Baldemec|title=A Week On The Jupiter River Anticosti Island|year=1934|publisher=Privately published}} (Colville was one of the five authors who contributed to the book under the collective pen name "Baldemec".)<ref name=fly/>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Martin|first=H. G.|year=1948|title=The History of the Fifteenth Scottish Division 1939–1945|location=London|publisher=William Blackwood & Sons|oclc=1401785744}}
*{{cite book | last=Saunders | first=Tim | title=Operation Plunder : the British & Canadian Operations | publisher=Pen & Sword Military | publication-place=Havertown | date=2006 | isbn=978-1-78346-079-3 | oclc=854974757}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[James Scott-Elliot](/source/James_Scott-Elliot)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[GOC 51st (Highland) Infantry Division](/source/51st_(Highland)_Division)|years=1956–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[Frederick Graham](/source/Frederick_Graham_(British_Army_officer))}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colville, Edward}}
Category:1905 births
Category:1982 deaths
Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II
Category:British Army major generals
Edward
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex
Category:English justices of the peace
Category:Gordon Highlanders officers
Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
Category:Military personnel from the City of Westminster
Category:People educated at Marlborough College

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edward Colville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Colville) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Colville?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.