# Gerald Templer

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{{Short description|Chief of the Imperial General Staff}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [Field Marshal](/source/Field_marshal_(United_Kingdom))
| name             = Sir Gerald Templer
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|size=100|KG|GCB|GCMG|KBE|DSO}}
| image            = Sir gerald templer.gif
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = General Sir Gerald Templer in Malaya, 1953
| nickname         = "Tiger of Malaya"
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1898|09|11|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [Colchester](/source/Colchester), [Essex](/source/Essex), England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1979|10|25|1898|09|11|df=y}}
| death_place      = [Chelsea, London](/source/Chelsea%2C_London), England
| burial_place     = St. Michael's churchyard, [Wilsford, Salisbury](/source/Wilsford_cum_Lake), [Wiltshire](/source/Wiltshire), England<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100699727/gerald-walter_robert-templer|title=Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer...|website=www.findagrave.com}}</ref>
| allegiance       = United Kingdom
| branch           = [British Army](/source/British_Army)
| service_years    = 1916–1958
| rank             = [Field Marshal](/source/Field_marshal_(United_Kingdom))
| service_number   = 15307
| unit             = [Royal Irish Fusiliers](/source/Royal_Irish_Fusiliers)<br/>[Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)](/source/Loyal_Regiment_(North_Lancashire))
| commands         = [Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)) (1955–1958)<br/>[Eastern Command](/source/Eastern_Command_(United_Kingdom)) (1950–1952)<br/>[6th Armoured Division](/source/6th_Armoured_Division_(United_Kingdom)) (1944)<br/>[56th (London) Infantry Division](/source/56th_(London)_Infantry_Division) (1943–1944)<br/>[1st Infantry Division](/source/History_of_the_British_1st_Division_during_the_World_Wars) (1943)<br/>[XI Corps](/source/XI_Corps_(United_Kingdom)) (1943)<br/>[II Corps](/source/II_Corps_(United_Kingdom)) (1942–1943)<br/>[47th (London) Infantry Division](/source/47th_(London)_Infantry_Division) (1942)<br/>[210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)](/source/210th_Independent_Infantry_Brigade_(Home)) (1940–1941)<br/>9th Battalion, [Royal Sussex Regiment](/source/Royal_Sussex_Regiment) (1940)
| battles          = {{tree list}}
* [First World War](/source/First_World_War)
** [Hundred Days Offensive](/source/Hundred_Days_Offensive)
* [Arab revolt in Palestine](/source/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine)
* [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War)
** [North African campaign](/source/North_African_campaign)
** [Italian campaign](/source/Italian_campaign_(World_War_II))
*** [Battle of Anzio](/source/Battle_of_Anzio)
*** [Battle of Monte Cassino](/source/Battle_of_Monte_Cassino)
*** [Gothic Line offensive](/source/Gothic_Line)
** [Western Allied invasion of Germany](/source/Western_Allied_invasion_of_Germany)
* [Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency)
* [Suez Crisis](/source/Suez_Crisis)
{{tree list/end}}
| awards           = [Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter](/source/Knight_Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Garter)<br/>[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)<br/>[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George)<br/>[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire)<br/>[Companion of the Distinguished Service Order](/source/Companion_of_the_Distinguished_Service_Order)<br/>[Mentioned in Despatches](/source/Mentioned_in_Despatches) (2)<br/>[Commander of the Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit) (United States)<br/>[Commander of the Order of Leopold II](/source/Order_of_Leopold_II) (Belgium)<br/>[Croix de guerre](/source/Croix_de_guerre_(Belgium)) (Belgium)<br/>[Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau](/source/Order_of_Orange-Nassau) with Swords (Netherlands)<br/>[Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm](/source/Order_of_the_Defender_of_the_Realm) (Malaya)
| relations        = 
| other_work       = 
}}
[Field Marshal](/source/Field_marshal_(United_Kingdom)) '''Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer''' (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior [British Army](/source/British_Army) officer. He fought in both the [world war](/source/world_war)s and was involved in the British response to the [1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine](/source/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Newsinger|first=John|title=British Counterinsurgency 2nd edition|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2015|isbn=978-0-230-29824-8|location=Basingstoke|pages=54|language=English}}</ref> As [Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)), the professional head of the British Army between 1955 and 1958, Templer was Prime Minister [Anthony Eden](/source/Anthony_Eden)'s chief military adviser during the [Suez Crisis](/source/Suez_Crisis). He is also credited as a founder of the United Kingdom's [National Army Museum](/source/National_Army_Museum).

Templer is best known for implementing strategies that heavily contributed to the defeat of the [Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA)](/source/Malayan_National_Liberation_Army) during the [Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency). Some historians have described his methods as a successful example of a "[hearts and minds](/source/Winning_hearts_and_minds)" campaign, while other scholars have dismissed this as a myth due to his over-reliance on population control and coercion.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Elkins |first=Caroline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3icqEAAAQBAJ |title=Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire |date=2022 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday |isbn=978-0-593-32008-2 |pages=535–536 |language=en}}</ref> Templer also oversaw, ordered, and personally approved of many controversial policies and numerous [atrocities](/source/War_crime) committed by his troops. These including the use of internment camps called "[New Villages](/source/New_village)", the forced relocation of [ethnic minorities](/source/Orang_Asli),<ref name=":4" /> forced conscription,<ref name=":3" /> collective punishment against civilians,<ref name=":3" /> the hiring of specialist [Iban-headhunters](/source/Iban_people) to decapitate suspected communists,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> pioneering the use of [Agent Orange](/source/Agent_Orange) (later used in Vietnam),<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /> and the use of [scorched earth](/source/scorched_earth) policies deprive the MNLA of resources.<ref name=":6" />

Many of the counter-insurgency strategies he pioneered were later imitated by the United States in Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tilman|first=Robert O.|date=1 August 1966|title=The Non-Lessons of the Malayan Emergency|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article-abstract/6/8/407/24029/The-Non-Lessons-of-the-Malayan-Emergency?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Far Eastern Survey|volume=6| issue = 8|via=University of California Press}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Gerald Walter Robert Templer was born on 11 September 1898 at 15 Wellesley Road, in [Colchester](/source/Colchester), [Essex](/source/Essex), the son (and only child) of Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Francis Templer, of the [Royal Irish Fusiliers](/source/Royal_Irish_Fusiliers), and Mabel Eileen Templer (née Johnston). Of [Irish](/source/Irish_people) descent, Templer attended an infant school at [Rosslyn](/source/Roslin%2C_Midlothian), [Scotland](/source/Scotland), before being sent to [Edinburgh Academy](/source/Edinburgh_Academy) in 1904, later attending a preparatory boarding school at Connaught House, Weymouth, from 1909 until 1911.<ref>Cloake, pps. 5–9</ref> In January 1912 he was sent to [Wellington College, Berkshire](/source/Wellington_College%2C_Berkshire) and stayed there until shortly after his 17th birthday in September 1915, a year into the [First World War](/source/World_War_I).<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31747 |title=Gerald Templer |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31747 |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> His time at Wellington was, due mainly to initially being severely bullied, not the happiest period of his life, as he later wrote "I loathed and detested my four years at Wellington", although he also admitted to making numerous friends there.<ref>Cloake, pps. 12–13</ref>

== First World War ==
From Wellington he then entered the [Royal Military College, Sandhurst](/source/Royal_Military_College%2C_Sandhurst) in December 1915 and, after attending a shortened course for the war, was [commissioned](/source/Officer_(armed_forces)) as a [second lieutenant](/source/second_lieutenant) into his father's regiment, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, on 16 August 1916, just under a month before his 18th birthday.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29708|page=8029|date=15 August 1916}}</ref>{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=273}} In contrast to his time at Wellington, Templer greatly enjoyed Sandhurst, and later wrote with amusement that he "was a completely undistinguished cadet from every point of view and passed out – nobody failed at that stage of the First World War because we were so badly needed as cannon fodder – in July 1916, a couple of months before my eighteenth birthday".<ref>Cloake, p. 15</ref> Due to his age, however, he was unable to serve overseas and was sent to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion in [Buncrana](/source/Buncrana) in [Inishowen](/source/Inishowen), on the north coast of [County Donegal](/source/County_Donegal), in [Ulster](/source/Ulster), [Ireland](/source/Ireland).<ref>Cloake, p. 16</ref>

Templer remained with the battalion until mid-October 1917 when, now aged 19, he was sent to the 7th/8th (Service) Battalion on the [Western Front](/source/Western_Front_(World_War_I)).<ref>Cloake, pps. 17–19</ref> The battalion was a [Kitchener's Army](/source/Kitchener's_Army) unit serving as part of the [49th Brigade](/source/49th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) of the [16th (Irish) Division](/source/16th_(Irish)_Division). However, he was posted to 'C' Company of the 1st Battalion in mid-November a [Regular Army](/source/Standing_army) unit, then serving in the [107th Brigade](/source/107th_(Ulster)_Brigade) of the [36th (Ulster) Division](/source/36th_(Ulster)_Division). Soon after Templer's arrival, the battalion took part in the [Battle of Cambrai](/source/Battle_of_Cambrai_(1917)) in late November, although Templer himself took no part in the battle and the battalion, and his 'C' Company in particular, sustained heavy losses.<ref>Cloake, p. 21</ref> In early February 1918 Templer's battalion, the 1st Irish Fusiliers, was transferred to the [108th Brigade](/source/108th_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)), due to a severe manpower shortage in the [British Expeditionary Force](/source/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_I)) (BEF) on the Western Front, which necessitated the reduction of all British brigades from four to three battalions.<ref>Cloake, p. 24</ref> He was promoted to [lieutenant](/source/Lieutenant_(British_Army_and_Royal_Marines)) on 16 February 1918.{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=273}} On 20 March Templer, seriously ill, passed out while in the trenches, suffering from acute [diphtheria](/source/diphtheria), and he was later evacuated to [England](/source/England). The [German Army](/source/German_Army_(German_Empire)) launched their [Spring Offensive](/source/German_spring_offensive) the day after and, while he was away his battalion sustained over 770 casualties out of a strength of some 800 men.<ref>Cloake, pps. 24–25</ref> He returned to the battalion, now composed of mainly teenagers, and fought with it in the [Hundred Days Offensive](/source/Hundred_Days_Offensive), which saw the war turn in favour of the [Allies](/source/Allies_of_World_War_I) and eventually resulted in the [Armistice with Germany](/source/Armistice_of_11_November_1918) being signed and the war ending on 11 November 1918. Templer was considerably lucky during the war, having not been wounded, although, as with many others of his generation, it left its mark on him in other ways.<ref>Cloake, pps. 25–27</ref> He wrote, many years later, "I still sometimes in my sleep at night hear the screams of the wounded horses, galloping on the ground, tripping over barbed wire, and treading on their own guts. It was a terrible thing to have to witness, worse in some ways than the human casualties". A week before his death Templer had this dream again, over sixty years after the war.<ref>Cloake, pps. 27–29</ref>

==Interwar period==
He remained in the army during the [interwar period](/source/interwar_period) and served with his battalion, still the 1st Irish Fusiliers, after briefly returning to England, in operations in [Persia](/source/Persia) (now [Iran](/source/Iran)) and [Iraq](/source/Iraq) in 1919–20 as part of a multi-national attempt to prevent the spread of [bolshevism](/source/Bolsheviks), which was followed by service in [Egypt](/source/Egypt).<ref>Cloake, pps. 29–37</ref> Returning to England with the battalion, where it was amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in November 1922,<ref>Cloake, pps. 37–38</ref> Templer was a reserve for the [1924 Summer Olympics](/source/1924_Summer_Olympics) as a 120-yard hurdler, although in the end he did not compete.<ref>Cloake, p. 38</ref><ref name=odnb/> In January 1925 the battalion again returned to Egypt, where it remained until October 1927 when it was sent to [India](/source/British_Raj), although Templer did not accompany them. Just before the battalion sailed for India he had returned to England to attend the [Staff College, Camberley](/source/Staff_College%2C_Camberley), which he did from 1928 to 1929, and was the youngest student there, aged just 29.<ref name="Cloake47">Cloake, p. 47</ref> Among his many fellow students were men such as [John Harding](/source/John_Harding%2C_1st_Baron_Harding_of_Petherton), [Richard McCreery](/source/Richard_McCreery), [Gordon MacMillan](/source/Gordon_MacMillan), [Alexander Galloway](/source/Alexander_Galloway), [Gerard Bucknall](/source/Gerard_Bucknall), [Philip Gregson-Ellis](/source/Philip_Gregson-Ellis), [Alexander Cameron](/source/Alexander_Maurice_Cameron) and [Cameron Nicholson](/source/Cameron_Nicholson).<ref name="Cloake47"/> In the year senior to him were [Eric Dorman-Smith](/source/Eric_Dorman-Smith), [John Hawkesworth](/source/John_Hawkesworth_(British_Army_officer)), [John Whiteley](/source/John_Whiteley_(British_Army_officer)), [Evelyn Barker](/source/Evelyn_Barker), [Oliver Leese](/source/Oliver_Leese), [Ronald Penney](/source/Ronald_Penney), [Robert Bridgeman](/source/Robert_Bridgeman%2C_2nd_Viscount_Bridgeman), [Philip Christison](/source/Philip_Christison) and numerous others while, in Templer's second year, in the year below, were [George Erskine](/source/George_Erskine), [Harold Freeman-Attwood](/source/Harold_Freeman-Attwood), [Neil Ritchie](/source/Neil_Ritchie), [Herbert Lumsden](/source/Herbert_Lumsden), [Reginald Denning](/source/Reginald_Denning) and [Maurice Chilton](/source/Maurice_Chilton).<ref name="Cloake47"/> Templer's instructors there included [Bernard Paget](/source/Bernard_Paget), [Henry Pownall](/source/Henry_Pownall) and [Bernard Montgomery](/source/Bernard_Montgomery).<ref name="Cloake47"/> Due to the Royal Irish Fusiliers being reduced to a single battalion in 1922, and thus promotion in the regiment being slower than in the rest of the army, Templer was forced to transfer to the [Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)](/source/Loyal_Regiment_(North_Lancashire)), to gain a promotion to [captain](/source/Captain_(British_Army_and_Royal_Marines)), which was backdated to 11 August 1928.<ref name="Page274">Heathcote, Anthony pg 274</ref> After graduation from the Staff College, Templer joined the 2nd Battalion of his new regiment, then stationed at [Aldershot](/source/Aldershot), in January 1930.<ref>Cloake, pps. 49–50</ref>

He later became a [General Staff Officer Grade 3](/source/Staff_(military)) (GSO3) with the [3rd Division](/source/3rd_Division_(United_Kingdom)) on [Salisbury Plain](/source/Salisbury_Plain) in 1931.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33710|page=2647|date=24 April 1931}}</ref> While there his immediate superior, [Colonel](/source/Colonel_(United_Kingdom)) [Edmund Osborne](/source/Edmund_Osborne), the division's GSO1, who took a disliking to Templer, wrote a confidential report, severely criticizing Templer's performance and recommending he be retired from the army.<ref>Cloake, p. 51</ref> Surviving this, Templer then was GSO2 at HQ [Northern Command](/source/Northern_Command_(United_Kingdom)) in [York](/source/York) in 1933 before returning to the 2nd Loyals to be a [company commander](/source/company_commander) at [Tidworth](/source/Tidworth_Camp) in April 1935.<ref>Cloake, pps. 52–54</ref><ref name="Page274"/> While at Northern Command he first met [Harold Alexander](/source/Harold_Alexander%2C_1st_Earl_Alexander_of_Tunis), then a colonel, who was his superior as GSO1, and the two remained great friends until Alexander's death in 1969.<ref>Cloake, pps. 51–52</ref> In January 1936 Templer, along with a large draft of replacements from the 2nd Loyals, was deployed to [Palestine](/source/Mandatory_Palestine) to serve with the 1st Loyals, with Templer commanding 'A' Company, during the [Arab revolt](/source/1936%E2%80%9339_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine) there, for which he was awarded the [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) (DSO) on 6 November 1936 and [mentioned in dispatches](/source/mentioned_in_dispatches).<ref>Cloake, pps. 54–63</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34338|page=7123|date=6 November 1936}}</ref> His experience in Palestine had a profound impact on him, as he said in 1970 in a BBC interview, "I've felt terribly strongly all my life, from my youth, on racial and religious clashes – ever since my boyhood in Ireland. That was a feeling that which was strengthened by my service in Palestine in 1935–6, the [Jew](/source/Jews)-[Arab](/source/Arabs) problems: I felt them bitterly in my heart".<ref>Cloake, p. 62</ref> In July 1937 he left Palestine and returned to England, where he became GSO2 of the [53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division](/source/53rd_(Welsh)_Infantry_Division), a [Territorial Army](/source/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)) (TA) formation, where he came to the attention of senior officers.<ref>Cloake, p. 63</ref> In April 1938 Templer transferred back as a captain in the Royal Irish Fusiliers, although he remained seconded for staff duties. He was promoted to [major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)) on 1 August 1938 and posted to the [War Office](/source/War_Office) as a GSO2 at the [Directorate of Military Intelligence](/source/Military_intelligence) (DMI) in October.<ref>Cloake, pps. 63–65</ref><ref>Mead, p. 452</ref>{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=274}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34563|page=6562|date=21 October 1938}}</ref> In this role he helped in the creation and training of the [Intelligence Corps](/source/Intelligence_Corps_(United_Kingdom)).<ref>Cloake, pps. 66</ref>

==Second World War==
At the outbreak of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) in September 1939 Templer was an [acting](/source/Acting_(rank)) [lieutenant-colonel](/source/Lieutenant_colonel_(United_Kingdom)), and, on 4 September, the day after war was declared, he was chosen to be one of two GSO1s to the DMI of the [British Expeditionary Force](/source/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)) (BEF), [Major-General](/source/Major-general_(United_Kingdom)) [Noel Mason-MacFarlane](/source/Noel_Mason-MacFarlane), replacing the original choice, [Kenneth Strong](/source/Kenneth_Strong).<ref>Cloake, p. 70</ref><ref name="Mead453">Mead, p. 453</ref> He soon found himself in France.{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=274}} Templer's duties were mainly concerned with counter-intelligence and security. The [German Army](/source/German_Army_(Wehrmacht)) [attacked in the West](/source/Battle_of_France) on 10 May 1940, although Templer himself was then on leave but was back in France and discovered Mason-MacFarlane was in [Brussels](/source/Brussels), with the intelligence staff moving behind him but was a long distance from GHQ BEF, resulting in poor communications.<ref name="Mead453"/> On 17 May [General](/source/General_(United_Kingdom)) [Lord Gort](/source/John_Vereker%2C_6th_Viscount_Gort), the BEF's [Commander-in-Chief](/source/Commander-in-chief) (C-in-C), feared for the BEF's right flank along the [River Scarpe](/source/Scarpe_(river)) and, due to a shortage of troops, ordered Mason-MacFarlane to form "Macforce" to hold the river with whatever troops could be found.<ref name="Mead453"/> Templer subsequently became GSO1 of "Macforce". The only unit of any size then available was [Brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom)) [John Smyth](/source/Sir_John_Smyth%2C_1st_Baronet)'s [127th Brigade](/source/127th_(Manchester)_Brigade), detached from its parent [42nd Division](/source/42nd_(East_Lancashire)_Infantry_Division), which was soon strengthened by armoured cars of Lieutenant-Colonel [George Hopkinson](/source/George_Hopkinson)'s "Hopkinson Mission", and some scattered artillery and engineer units.<ref>Cloake, pps. 74–75</ref> The 127th Brigade was soon replaced by the [139th Brigade](/source/139th_(Sherwood_Foresters)_Brigade) (also detached its parent [46th Division](/source/46th_Infantry_Division_(United_Kingdom))) and "Macforce" continued taking on scattered units and, after a few small skirmishes but no major engagements, was eventually disbanded. With the BEF [retreating to Dunkirk](/source/Battle_of_Dunkirk), both Mason-MacFarlane and Templer were evacuated to England, arriving there on 27 May.<ref name="Mead453"/><ref>Cloake, pps. 77–80</ref>

[[File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H8404.jpg|thumb|left|[Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant-general_(United_Kingdom)) [Bernard Montgomery](/source/Bernard_Montgomery) inspecting men of the 7th Battalion, [Suffolk Regiment](/source/Suffolk_Regiment), at Sandbanks near Poole, 22 March 1941. Also pictured, to his right wearing a [peaked cap](/source/peaked_cap), is Brigadier Gerald Templer.]]

Soon after returning to England Templer was, in mid-June, ordered to [Chichester](/source/Chichester) to raise the 9th Battalion of the [Royal Sussex Regiment](/source/Royal_Sussex_Regiment), one of many then being raised in the aftermath of Dunkirk.<ref>Cloake, p. 83</ref> The battalion was to be based around a small [cadre](/source/Cadre_(military)) of [Regular](/source/Standing_army) soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex who, like Templer, had recently returned from France, and the rest of the battalion was to consist of newly called up [conscripts](/source/Conscription_in_the_United_Kingdom), most of whom were in their late twenties with no previous military experience.<ref name="Mead453"/> The battalion moved to [Ross-on-Wye](/source/Ross-on-Wye) soon after its official formation on 4 July 1940. The task was made more difficult by the lack of rifles and other necessary equipment but Templer tried his best to train his men instil in them a regimental pride.<ref>Cloake, pps. 84–86</ref>

In early November he was given the command of the [210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)](/source/210th_Independent_Infantry_Brigade_(Home)), composed of five battalions, all less than six months old, in [Dorset](/source/Dorset), with responsibility for the defence of the coast in the event of a [German invasion](/source/Operation_Sea_Lion) between [Lyme Regis](/source/Lyme_Regis) and [Poole](/source/Poole).<ref>Cloake, p. 87</ref><ref name="Mead453" />{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=274}} The brigade was then serving under [V Corps](/source/V_Corps_(United_Kingdom)), commanded by [Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant-general_(United_Kingdom)) [Bernard Montgomery](/source/Bernard_Montgomery), one of Templer's instructors at the Staff College, who thought highly of him and the two, who shared similar outlooks on training and waging war, established a close working relationship. Captain Michael Joseph, a [company commander](/source/company_commander) in the 9th Battalion, [Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment](/source/Queen's_Own_Royal_West_Kent_Regiment), part of the 210th Brigade, claimed Templer "understood the difficulties and the problems of the platoon commander, which is more than can be said of some others".<ref>Cloake, p. 88</ref> Work on the beach defences combined with training and continued throughout the winter and into the spring, and in late April 1941 the brigade, now with a slightly different composition, came under the command of the [Dorset County Division](/source/Dorset_County_Division), one of the newly created [British County Divisions](/source/British_County_Divisions) formed specifically for static defence.<ref name="Mead453" /> However, on 7 April Montgomery was promoted to the command of [XII Corps](/source/XII_Corps_(United_Kingdom)) in [Kent](/source/Kent) and [Sussex](/source/Sussex) and recommended to the War Office that Templer be the [Brigadier General Staff](/source/Staff_(military)) (BGS) of V Corps, which now came under the command of Lieutenant-General [Edmond Schreiber](/source/Edmond_Schreiber).<ref>Cloake, p. 89</ref>{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=274}} Like Montgomery, Schreiber formed a high opinion of Templer and they got along well together. The summer was spent mainly on numerous [exercises](/source/Military_exercise). In early March 1942 Schreiber was promoted to command of "Force 110", later redesignated as the [First Army](/source/First_Army_(United_Kingdom)), and V Corps passed to Lieutenant-General [Charles Allfrey](/source/Charles_Walter_Allfrey). Soon afterwards, however, Templer received note that he was to take over the command of a division.<ref>Cloake, p. 91</ref> Templer was promoted to substantive [colonel](/source/Colonel_(United_Kingdom)) on 6 October 1941, with seniority from 1 July.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35360 |supp=y|page=6826|date=25 November 1941}}</ref>

Templer became [General Officer Commanding](/source/General_officer_commanding) (GOC) of the [47th (London) Infantry Division](/source/47th_(London)_Infantry_Division), based in [Winchester](/source/Winchester), [Hampshire](/source/Hampshire) as an acting major-general on 10 April 1942, serving under V Corps.<ref name="Mead454">Mead, p. 454</ref> The division – comprising the [25th](/source/25th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)), [140th](/source/140th_(4th_London)_Brigade) and [141st Infantry Brigade](/source/141st_(5th_London)_Brigade)s and supporting units – was a second-line TA formation, formerly the 2nd London Division, redesignated the 47th Division in November 1940. Placed on the Lower Establishment in December 1941, the division was understrength in manpower and equipment and men were constantly posted as drafts overseas, but the men were well-trained, due to their previous GOC, Major-General [John Utterson-Kelso](/source/John_Utterson-Kelso), one of the best trainers in the British Army.<ref name="Mead454"/> According to a battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Darling, commanding the 11th Battalion, [Royal Fusiliers](/source/Royal_Fusiliers), Templer "inspired the Division with enthusiasm, keenness and efficiency", and "made them believe they were going to meet the Germans – and beat them. He inculcated a tremendous fighting spirit". Another junior staff officer, [Edward Jones](/source/Edward_Warburton_Jones), believed Templer to be very nervy but keen, claiming he never slept during an exercise, no matter the length and believed he would burn himself out.<ref>Cloake, p. 94</ref>

He did not remain there for much longer, however, as, in September 1942, he was promoted to become GOC [II Corps](/source/II_Corps_(United_Kingdom)){{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=275}} as the British Army's youngest acting lieutenant-general.<ref name="Mead454"/><ref name=odnb/> However, the corps was actually II Corps District, a static formation, with responsibility for the defence of northern [East Anglia](/source/East_Anglia) against invasion.<ref name="Mead454"/> By this time, the threat of invasion had much receded and, by early 1943, much of Templer's command had been posted away, the [1st Division](/source/History_of_the_British_1st_Division_during_the_World_Wars) moving to [North Africa](/source/North_Africa) and the [76th Division](/source/76th_Infantry_Division_(United_Kingdom)) being reduced to a reserve division, leaving Templer with little more than 30 [Home Guard](/source/Home_Guard_(United_Kingdom)) battalions.<ref>Cloake, p. 98</ref> Then, in April 1943, he took command of [XI Corps](/source/XI_Corps_(United_Kingdom)), with the [54th](/source/54th_(East_Anglian)_Infantry_Division) and [61st Division](/source/61st_Infantry_Division_(United_Kingdom))s and numerous smaller units under command, after II Corps was disbanded. His corps responsibility was for the defence of all of East Anglia.{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=275}}<ref name="Mead454"/> Despite this, Templer was growing impatient at training troops and wished for a field command. To this end, in July, he approached [General](/source/General_(United_Kingdom)) [Sir Bernard Paget](/source/Bernard_Paget), the [Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces](/source/Commander-in-Chief%2C_Home_Forces) (and formerly one of Templer's instructors at the Staff College), and offered to give up his rank of acting lieutenant-general so that he could command a division on active service.<ref name="Mead454"/> His offer was accepted and, together with [Gerard Bucknall](/source/Gerard_Bucknall) (a fellow student at the Staff College who, like Templer, had risen rapidly but was presumably sharing his mindset), Templer, reverting to major-general on 30 July, flew out to [Algiers](/source/Algiers), arriving there the day after.<ref>Cloake, p. 99</ref>

Templer became GOC of the 1st Infantry Division, which had come under his command while he was GOC II Corps, on 31 July 1943.<ref name="Mead454"/> The division, with the [2nd](/source/2nd_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)), [3rd Infantry Brigade](/source/3rd_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom))s and the [24th Guards Brigade](/source/24th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) and supporting units, was based south of [Tunis](/source/Tunis) and had recently fought, with great distinction, in the final phases of the [Tunisian campaign](/source/Tunisian_campaign), where it had gained three [Victoria Cross](/source/Victoria_Cross)es (VC) in the space of a week.<ref name="Mead454"/> The division was then training for future participation in the [Italian campaign](/source/Italian_campaign_(World_War_II)).<ref>Cloake, p. 102</ref><ref name="Mead454"/> In late August General [Sir Harold Alexander](/source/Harold_Alexander%2C_1st_Earl_Alexander_of_Tunis), commanding the Allied [15th Army Group](/source/15th_Army_Group), along with numerous and senior US and British generals, arrived to present the VC to [Lance Corporal](/source/Lance_corporal) [John Kenneally](/source/John_Kenneally) of the 1st Battalion, [Irish Guards](/source/Irish_Guards).<ref name="Cloake103">Cloake, p. 103</ref> Shortly afterwards, the division was involved in a divisional parade, with [General](/source/General_(United_States)) [Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower](/source/Dwight_D._Eisenhower), the [Supreme Allied Commander](/source/Supreme_Allied_Commander) in the theatre, reviewing the entire division.<ref name="Cloake103"/> Templer himself wrote about the moment, saying:

{{Quote|I think it was the proudest moment of my life. In his address Ike said, 'When it gives me, your Supreme Commander and an American general, as proud to see you, the 1st Division of the British Army, on parade today as if you were the [1st Division of the American Army](/source/1st_Infantry_Division_(United_States)), then we are really getting somewhere!' It was a magnificent parade, and as far as I know, unique.<ref name="Cloake103"/>}}

Despite managing to concentrate the division and get it training in [mountain warfare](/source/mountain_warfare), Templer was not destined to lead the 1st Division into battle, although he was later to meet it again in Italy.<ref name="Mead454"/>

On 10 October 1943, Major-General [Douglas Graham](/source/Douglas_Alexander_Graham), the GOC of the [56th (London) Infantry Division](/source/56th_(London)_Infantry_Division), then fighting in Italy, was seriously injured when his jeep tumbled into a shell crater and Templer was ordered to Italy to replace him.<ref name="Mead454"/>{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=275}} He arrived in Italy on 15 October, when the division was in the middle of crossing the [Volturno](/source/Volturno).<ref>Cloake, p. 105</ref> The division, a first-line TA formation, with the [167th](/source/167th_(1st_London)_Brigade), [168th](/source/168th_(2nd_London)_Brigade) and [169th Infantry Brigade](/source/169th_(3rd_London)_Brigade)s and supporting troops, along with the [201st Guards Brigade](/source/22nd_Guards_Brigade) under Brigadier [Julian Gascoigne](/source/Julian_Gascoigne) temporarily attached, had taken part in the [Allied invasion of Italy](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Italy) at [Salerno](/source/Salerno) the month before as part of [British X Corps](/source/X_Corps_(United_Kingdom)), under Lieutenant-General [Richard McCreery](/source/Richard_McCreery) (a fellow student of Templer's at the Staff College in the late 1920s), and had suffered heavy casualties, and the division was still understrength.<ref name="Mead454"/>

In February 1944, the division, now under [U.S. VI Corps](/source/VI_Corps_(United_States)), fought in the [Battle of Anzio](/source/Battle_of_Anzio) where Templer temporarily commanded the British 1st Infantry Division after the GOC, Major-General [Ronald Penney](/source/Ronald_Penney), was wounded by [shellfire](/source/Artillery).{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=275}} He was appointed a [Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath) on 24 August 1944 in recognition of his services in Italy.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36668 |supp=y|page=3917|date=22 August 1944}}</ref>

[[File:The Life and work Edward G Malindine, Photojournalist and Official Army Photographer 1906 - 1970 HU102819.jpg|thumb|right|[Field Marshal](/source/Field_Marshal_(United_Kingdom)) [Sir Bernard L. Montgomery](/source/Bernard_Law_Montgomery%2C_1st_Viscount_Montgomery_of_Alamein) poses for a group photograph with his staff, corps and divisional commanders at Walbeck, Germany, 22 March 1945. Pictured sitting on the ground, fourth on the right, is Major-General G. W. R. Templer.]]

In late July 1944, Templer briefly became GOC [6th Armoured Division](/source/6th_Armoured_Division_(United_Kingdom)) before being severely injured by a land mine in August, after being GOC for twelve days.<ref name="Page275">Heathcote, Anthony pg 275</ref> Promoted to major-general on 17 April 1945,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37056 |supp=y|page=2282|date=27 April 1945}}</ref> he spent the rest of the war on intelligence duties in [21st Army Group](/source/21st_Army_Group) HQ as well as briefly heading the German Directorate of the [Special Operations Executive](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) (SOE).{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=275}} He was [mentioned in dispatches](/source/mentioned_in_dispatches) on 8 November 1945 in recognition of his services in North West Europe.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37340 |supp=y|page=5434|date=6 November 1945}}</ref>

==Postwar==
On 17 October 1946, Templer was awarded the [Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit) in the Degree of Commander by the [President of the United States](/source/President_of_the_United_States) for his conduct during the war.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37761 |supp=y|page=5137|date=15 October 1946}}</ref> He was also appointed a Commander of the [Order of Leopold II](/source/Order_of_Leopold_II) of Belgium and [Croix de guerre](/source/Croix_de_guerre_(Belgium))<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37761 |supp=y|page=5140|date=15 October 1946}}</ref> and a Grand Officer of the [Order of Orange Nassau](/source/Order_of_Orange_Nassau) of the Netherlands with Swords.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37761 |supp=y|page=5143|date=15 October 1946}}</ref>

He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the [British Element (CCG/BE)](/source/Control_Commission_for_Germany_-_British_Element) of the [Allied Control Commission](/source/Allied_Commission) for [Germany](/source/Allied-occupied_Germany) after the Second World War, for which he was appointed a [Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) in the [King's Birthday Honours](/source/Queen's_Birthday_Honours) 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37598 |supp=y|page=2760|date=4 June 1946}}</ref> 

He first came to public notice in 1945 while acting as Director of the Military Government in the British Zone of Germany, when he fired the mayor of [Cologne](/source/Cologne), [Konrad Adenauer](/source/Konrad_Adenauer), for "laziness and inefficiency".<ref name="Page275"/> This became an issue in 1954, when it was mooted he should become commander of the [British Army of the Rhine](/source/British_Army_of_the_Rhine); fearing an adverse reaction from  Adenauer – who was now [Chancellor](/source/Chancellor_of_Germany) – the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill demurred and Templer was not appointed after his tour in Malaya ended.<ref>{{cite book|title=Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence: The Man and His Time |first= Leon |last=Comber|year=2015|publisher=ISEAS Publishing|isbn=978-9814620109|page=189|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjXzCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA189}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The British Army of the Rhine: Turning Nazi Enemies into Cold War Partners |first=Peter |last=Speiser|year=2016|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0252040160|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fsYvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34}}</ref>

Templer became [Director of Military Intelligence](/source/Directorate_of_Military_Intelligence_(United_Kingdom)) at the [War Office](/source/War_Office) in March 1946, then [Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Vice_Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)) in February 1948. Having been promoted to lieutenant-general on 5 April 1948<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38253 |supp=y|page=2197|date=2 April 1948}}</ref> and appointed a [Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) in the [New Year Honours](/source/New_Year_Honours) 1949,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38493 |supp=y|page=6|date=31 December 1948}}</ref> he moved on to be [General Officer Commanding](/source/General_Officer_Commanding) [Eastern Command](/source/Eastern_Command_(United_Kingdom)) on 18 February 1950.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38860 |supp=y|page=1267|date=14 March 1950}}</ref> He was promoted to [general](/source/General_(United_Kingdom)) on 4 June 1950,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38980 |supp=y|page=3939|date=1 August 1950}}</ref> advanced to [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) in the [King's Birthday Honours](/source/Queen's_Birthday_Honours) 1951,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39243 |supp=y|page=3063|date=1 June 1951}}</ref> and appointed [Aide-de-Camp General](/source/Aide-de-Camp_General) to [the King](/source/George_VI) on 30 August 1951.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39332 |supp=y|page=4811|date=11 September 1951}}</ref> He also became a Knight of the [Venerable Order of Saint John](/source/Venerable_Order_of_Saint_John).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39584|page=3520|date=27 June 1952}}</ref>

==High Commissioner for Malaya==
thumb|left|Sir Gerald Templer and his assistant, Major Lord Wynford inspecting the members of Kinta Valley Home Guard (KVHG) in Perak, {{circa|1952}}.
{{see also|The Templer Plan}}
[[File:10th May 1952 - This Horror Must End.jpg|thumb|A British [Royal Marine](/source/Royal_Marines) in Malay poses with the heads of two MNLA guerrillas. Templer oversaw and defended the practice of decapitating suspected pro-independence fighters during the Malayan Emergency]]
On 22 January 1952, [Winston Churchill](/source/Winston_Churchill) appointed Templer [British High Commissioner for Malaya](/source/British_High_Commissioner_in_Malaya) to deal with the [Malayan Emergency](/source/Malayan_Emergency).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39448|page=513|date=25 January 1952}}</ref> Working closely with [Robert Thompson](/source/Robert_Grainger_Ker_Thompson), the Permanent Secretary of Defence for Malaya, Templer's tactics against the [Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA)](/source/Malayan_National_Liberation_Army) were held up by Heathcote as "one of the most successful of the British Army's [counter-insurgency](/source/counter-insurgency) campaigns".{{sfn|Heathcote|1999|p=276}} In military terms Templer concentrated his efforts on intelligence.<ref name="Pointer">{{cite web|url=http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/pointer/journals/2003/v29n4/personality_profile.html|title=Personality Profile: Gerald Templer|publisher=Pointer: Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces|year=2003|access-date=2 January 2012|archive-date=7 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807180932/http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/pointer/journals/2003/v29n4/personality_profile.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Templer famously remarked that, "The answer [to the uprising] lies not in pouring more troops into the jungle, but in the hearts and minds of the people."<ref>Lapping, Brian pg 224</ref>

He instituted incentive schemes for rewarding surrendering rebels and those who encouraged them to surrender<ref name="Channel4">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/empires-children/episode-guide/series-1/episode-5 |title=Empire's Children: Hearts and Minds Campaign|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> and used strict curfews and tight control of food supplies to force compliance from rebellious areas to flush out guerillas. Crops grown by the communists in response to these measures were sprayed with [herbicide](/source/herbicide) and [defoliants](/source/defoliants) ([2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid](/source/2%2C4%2C5-trichlorophenoxyacetic_acid)), the practice of which prepared the way for American use of [Agent Orange](/source/Agent_Orange) in Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Bookmarks Publications|year=2013|isbn=978-1-909026-29-2|location=London|pages=220}}</ref> Restrictions on food and curfews were lifted on so-called ''White Areas'' which had been found to be free of communist incursion.<ref>Ramakrishna, Kumar pg 120</ref>

In private correspondences with Colonial Secretary [Oliver Lyttleton](/source/Oliver_Lyttleton), Templer defended the practice of British troops employing [Dayak](/source/Dayak_people) headhunters to cut the heads off suspected MNLA [guerillas](/source/Guerilla_warfare).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History|last1=Peng|first1=Chin|last2=Miraflor|first2=Norma|last3=Ward|first3=Ian|publisher=Media Masters|year=2003|isbn=981-04-8693-6|location=Singapore|pages=304–305}}</ref> The widespread use of decapitations by Templer's troops in Malaya was exposed to the public by a British communist newspaper called ''The Daily Worker'' when they published the first known photographs of the decapitations in April 1952.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|title=This is the War in Malaya|date=28 April 1952|work=The Daily Worker}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Bookmarks Publications|year=2013|isbn=978-1-909026-29-2|location=London|pages=219}}</ref>

During his time in Malaya, Templer became commonly known as the "Tiger of Malaya", a title previously enjoyed by the Japanese general [Tomoyuki Yamashita](/source/Tomoyuki_Yamashita), who had captured Singapore and Malaya in 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Small Wars, Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World 1945–1965|last=Burleigh|first=Michael|publisher=Viking – Penguin Group|year=2013|isbn=978-0-670-02545-9|location=New York|pages=176}}</ref> In response to an article in ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' magazine that "the jungle had been stabilised",<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19521215,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207071321/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0%2C16641%2C19521215%2C00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 December 2006|title=Covers|magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))|date=15 December 1952|access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> he declared "I'll shoot the bastard who says that this emergency is over".<ref name="Pointer"/> The Malayan government eventually declared the Emergency over in 1960.<ref name="Channel4"/> He was advanced to [Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) for his work as High Commissioner in the [Coronation Honours List](/source/Coronation_of_Queen_Elizabeth_II) in June 1953.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39863 |supp=y|page=2945|date=26 May 1953}}</ref>
[[File:Stop This Horror in Malaya. Page 4 of 4.png|thumb|Page of a 1952 [''Daily Worker''](/source/Morning_Star_(British_newspaper)) leaflet accusing Templer of committing atrocities in Malaya.]]
Although Templer's actions were successful in helping to defeat the MNLA, they required the use of many controversial strategies, including the continued use of internment camps known as "[New Villages](/source/New_village)", the forced relocation of [ethnic minorities](/source/Orang_Asli),<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Leary|first=John D.|title=Violence and the Dream People: The Orang Asli in the Emergency 1948–1960|publisher=Athens: Ohio University Press|year=1995|isbn=0-89680-186-1|location=Athens|pages=42–43}}</ref> forced conscription,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Brendon|first=Piers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVnyQr2avocC&dq=piers%20brendon%20the%20decline%20of%20the%20British%20Empire&pg=PA457|title=The Decline and Fall of the British Empire 1781–1997|publisher=Random House|year=2010|isbn=9781409077961|pages=457}}</ref> collective punishment against civilians,<ref name=":3" /> the hiring of specialist headhunters to decapitate suspected communists,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> herbicidal warfare through the use of [Agent Orange](/source/Agent_Orange),<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Newsinger|first=John|title=British Counterinsurgency: 2nd Edition|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2015|isbn=978-0-230-29824-8|location=Basingstoke, UK|pages=52}}</ref> and the widespread killing of livestock and destruction of food crops to deprive the MNLA of resources.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Stellman|first1=Jeanne Mager|last2=Stellman|first2=Steven D.|last3=Christian|first3=Richard|last4=Weber|first4=Tracey|last5=Tomasallo|first5=Carrie|date=17 April 2003|title=The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01537|journal=Nature|volume=422|issue=6933|pages=681–7|doi=10.1038/nature01537|pmid=12700752|bibcode=2003Natur.422..681S|s2cid=4419223|via=Nature .com|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1952 the poet [Randall Swingler](/source/Randall_Swingler) wrote a poem about Templer titled "The Ballad of Herod Templer".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Croft |first=Andy |title=Comrade Heart: A Life of Randall Swingler |publisher=[Manchester University Press](/source/Manchester_University_Press) |year=2003 |pages=217}}</ref> The poem is believed to have been inspired by the British-Malayan headhunting scandal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Poole |first=Dan |title=Head Hunters in the Malayan Emergency: The Atrocity and Cover-Up |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |year=2023 |isbn=978-1399057417 |pages=xxvii, 117}}</ref>

The Malaysian Government arranged for the Main Hall at the [Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur](/source/Royal_Military_College_(Malaysia)) in [Sungai Besi](/source/Sungai_Besi), which had been established in 1952, to be named the "Tun Templer Hall" in his honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.ws/rmcmalaysia/facilitiesBenefits.htm|title=Royal Military College: facilities|publisher=Geocities|access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> They also named after him [Templer's Park](/source/Templer's_Park), a [nature reserve](/source/nature_reserve) established in 1955 in [Rawang](/source/Rawang%2C_Selangor), as well as the [Selangor state assembly constituency](/source/Taman_Templer_(state_constituency)) surrounding it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.malaiadventure.com/sightseeing/sightseeing_kl3.htm|title=Templer's Park|publisher=Malai Adventure|access-date=2 January 2012|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222301/http://www.malaiadventure.com/sightseeing/sightseeing_kl3.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Later military career==
thumb|right|220px|Garter-encircled arms of Sir Gerald Templer
Advanced to [Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) in the [Queen's Birthday Honours](/source/Queen's_Birthday_Honours) 1955,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40497 |supp=y|page=3259|date=3 June 1955}}</ref> Templer was appointed [Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)) on 29 September 1955.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40598 |supp=y|page=5555|date=30 September 1955}}</ref> In this capacity he advised the British Government on the response to the [Suez Crisis](/source/Suez_Crisis).<ref name="Page277">Heathcote, Anthony pg 277</ref> He was promoted to [field marshal](/source/Field_marshal_(United_Kingdom)) on 27 November 1956<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40935 |supp=y|page=6715|date=23 November 1956}}</ref> and retired on 29 September 1958.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41508 |supp=y|page=5954|date=26 September 1958}}</ref>

Templer was also appointed Colonel of the Royal Irish Fusiliers from 1946, Colonel of the Malay Federation Regiment from 1954,<ref name="Page277"/> Colonel of the [7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles](/source/7th_Duke_of_Edinburgh's_Own_Gurkha_Rifles) from 25 May 1956,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40785 |supp=y|page=3032|date=22 May 1956}}</ref> Colonel of the [Royal Horse Guards](/source/Royal_Horse_Guards) from 1963 and Colonel of the [Blues and Royals](/source/Blues_and_Royals) from 1969.<ref name="Page277"/>

In retirement, Templer focused on establishing the [National Army Museum](/source/National_Army_Museum) in London, which has named its library, archive and reading room as "The Templer Study Centre" in his honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/research/templerss2.shtml |title=Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer |publisher=National Army Museum |access-date=2 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029133055/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/research/templerss2.shtml |archive-date=29 October 2007 }}</ref> The Malaysian Government conferred on him the award of [Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm](/source/Order_of_the_Defender_of_the_Realm), which carries with it the [title](/source/Malay_styles_and_titles) ''Tun'', on 13 October 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iseas.edu.sg/HSLee/HSL0126.pdf |title=Correspondence re Royal Awards |publisher=ISEAS Library |access-date=2 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414230204/http://www.iseas.edu.sg/HSLee/HSL0126.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2012 }}</ref> He was also appointed a [Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter](/source/Knight_Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Garter) on 16 September 1963<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43108|page=7677|date=17 September 1963}}</ref> and [Constable of the Tower](/source/Constable_of_the_Tower) on 1 August 1965.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43731|page=7448|date=6 August 1965}}</ref> He chaired a committee of the rationalisation of air power in 1965<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=1771964&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5|title=Templer Committee: report on rationalisation of air power|publisher=National Archives|access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> and was appointed [Lord Lieutenant of Greater London](/source/Lord_Lieutenant_of_Greater_London) on 28 December 1966.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44219|page=88|date=3 January 1967}}</ref> He died of [lung cancer](/source/lung_cancer) at his home in [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea%2C_London) on 25 October 1979.<ref name="Page277"/> He was buried in the Churchyard of St. Michael in the Wiltshire village of [Wilsford cum Lake](/source/Wilsford_cum_Lake).<ref name=odnb/><ref name="auto"/>

In 1981 the [Society for Army Historical Research](/source/Society_for_Army_Historical_Research) established the Templer Medal, awarded annually to the author of the book published during that year that has made the most significant contribution to the history of the British Army, to commemorate Templer's life and achievements and to mark his presidency of the Society between 1965 and 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=Templer Medal|url=https://www.sahr.org.uk/templar-medal-book-prize.php|access-date=22 March 2021|publisher=Society for Army Historical Research}}</ref>

==Family==
On 8 September 1926 he married [Edith Margery (Peggie) Davie](/source/Ethel_Margery_Templer) in the church of [Plympton](/source/Plympton) St Mary, Devon. Gerald had first met her in 1921, and again in 1924, and they were engaged after 10 days.<ref>Cloake, pps. 40–41</ref> Lady Templer was one of the co-founders of the [Commonwealth Society for the Deaf](/source/Commonwealth_Society_for_the_Deaf), now [Sound Seekers](/source/Sound_Seekers).<ref>The Commonwealth Society for the deaf is only ten years old&nbsp;... 1969 p.1</ref> They had a daughter, Jane Frances, born in 1934,<ref>Cloake, p. 52</ref> and a son, John Miles, born in 1945.<ref>Cloake, p. 163</ref><ref name=odnb/> Jane Frances married Daniel O'Donovan (The O'Donovan),<ref name=burke>Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Irish Family Records. London, U.K.: Burkes Peerage Ltd, 1976.</ref> son of her father's old friend from the Royal Irish Fusiliers, Brigadier [Morgan O'Donovan](/source/Morgan_John_Winthrop_O'Donovan).<ref name=burke/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Barber|first= Noel |title=The War of Running Dogs|publisher=Arrow Books|year= 1989 |isbn= 0-09-962110-X}}
*{{cite book| last=Cloake|first= John|author-link=John Cloake |title=Templer, Tiger of Malaya: the life of field marshal Sir Gerald Templer|publisher=London, Harrap|year= 1985|isbn= 978-0-245-54204-6}}
*{{cite book| first=Richard| last=Doherty| author-link=Richard Doherty| title=Ireland's Generals in the Second World War| isbn=9781851828654| year=2004| publisher=[Four Courts Press](/source/Four_Courts_Press)}}
*{{cite book| first=Tony| last=Heathcote|title=The British Field Marshals 1736–1997| publisher=Pen & Sword| location=Barnsley (UK)| year=1999| isbn=0-85052-696-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Lapping|first=Brian|title=End of Empire|publisher=St Martin's Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-312-25071-3|url=https://archive.org/details/endofempire00lapp}}
*{{cite book|last=Marks|first= Leo |title=[Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's Story 1941-1945](/source/Between_Silk_and_Cyanide%3A_A_Codemaker's_Story_1941-1945)|publisher= HarperCollins|year= 1998|isbn=0-684-86780-X}}
*{{cite book |title=Churchill's Lions: A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II |last=Mead |first=Richard |year=2007 |publisher=Spellmount |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-86227-431-0 }}
*{{cite book|last=Neillands|first=Robin|title=A fighting retreat : the British Empire 1947–97|publisher=London, Hodder|year=1997|isbn=978-0-340-63520-9|url=https://archive.org/details/fightingretreatb0000neil}}
*{{cite book|last=Ramakrishna|first= Kumar |title=Emergency Propaganda: The Winning of Malayan Hearts and Minds 1948–1958|publisher= Curzon Press, Richmond|year= 2002 |isbn= 978-0-7007-1510-7}}

==External links==
*[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_T01.html#Templer_GWR British Army Officers 1939−1945]
*[https://www.generals.dk/general/Templer/Gerald_Walter_Robert/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

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{{S-bef|before=[James Steele](/source/James_Steele_(British_Army_officer))}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[GOC XI Corps](/source/XI_Corps_(United_Kingdom))|years=April – July 1943}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[GOC 1st Infantry Division](/source/1st_(United_Kingdom)_Division)|years=July – October 1943}}
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{{S-bef|before=[Vyvyan Evelegh](/source/Vyvyan_Evelegh)}}
{{S-ttl|title=[GOC 6th Armoured Division](/source/6th_Armoured_Division_(United_Kingdom))|years=July – August 1944}}
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{{succession box | title = [Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Vice_Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)) | before =[Sir Frank Simpson](/source/Frank_Simpson_(British_Army_officer)) | after =[Sir Nevil Brownjohn](/source/Nevil_Brownjohn) | years = 1948–1950}}
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{{succession box | title=[Chief of the Imperial General Staff](/source/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(United_Kingdom)) | before=[Sir John Harding](/source/John_Harding%2C_1st_Baron_Harding_of_Petherton) | after=[Sir Francis Festing](/source/Francis_Festing) | years=1955–1958}}
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{{Chief of the General Staff}}
{{Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Templer, Gerald}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gerald Templer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Templer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Templer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.