# Ronald Senior

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{{Short description|British Army officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = [Brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom))
|name= Ronald Senior
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DSO1|TD}}
|image= The Royal Navy during the Second World War A17979.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Brigadier R. H. Senior, Captain P. S. Smith and Major-General [Sidney Kirkman](/source/Sidney_Kirkman) watching the invasion of Sicily from the troop transport ''Winchester Castle'', July 1943
|nickname= 
|birth_date= {{birth date|1904|07|03|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [Chelsea, London](/source/Chelsea%2C_London)
|death_date= {{death date and age|1988|03|02|1904|07|03|df=yes}}
|death_place= [Westminster](/source/Westminster), London
|burial_place= 
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [British Army](/source/British_Army)
|service_years= 1924–1946
|rank= [Brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom))
|service_number= 28534
|unit= 
|commands= [56th Infantry Brigade](/source/56th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) (1945)<br/>[151st Infantry Brigade](/source/151st_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) (1943–1944)<br/>1st/7th Battalion, [Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)](/source/Queen's_Royal_Regiment_(West_Surrey)) (1942–1943)<br/>5th Battalion, [Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment](/source/Queen's_Own_Royal_West_Kent_Regiment) (1942)
|battles= [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War)
* [Battle of France](/source/Battle_of_France)
** [Battle of Dunkirk](/source/Battle_of_Dunkirk)
* [Western Desert campaign](/source/Western_Desert_campaign)
** [Battle of Alam el Halfa](/source/Battle_of_Alam_el_Halfa)
** [Second Battle of El Alamein](/source/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein)
* [Tunisian campaign](/source/Tunisian_campaign)
* [Italian campaign](/source/Italian_campaign_(World_War_II))
** [Allied invasion of Sicily](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily)
* [Western Front](/source/Western_Front_(World_War_II))
** [Operation Overlord](/source/Operation_Overlord)
** [Liberation of Arnhem](/source/Liberation_of_Arnhem)
|awards= [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) & [Bar](/source/Medal_bar)<br/>[Territorial Decoration](/source/Territorial_Decoration)<br/>[Mentioned in Despatches](/source/Mentioned_in_Despatches)
|relations= 
|other_work=
}}
[Brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom)) '''Ronald Henry Senior''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|DSO1|TD}} (3 July 1904 – 2 March 1988) was a [British Army](/source/British_Army) officer who served with distinction in various campaigns throughout the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War).<ref name="Officers of the British Army">{{cite web|url=https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_S01.html#Senior_RH|title=British Army officer histories|publisher=Unit Histories|access-date=31 October 2021}}</ref>

==Military career==
Ronald Henry Senior was born in [Chelsea, London](/source/Chelsea%2C_London), on 3 July 1904. He was the son Lawrence Henry Senior and his wife, Emmadonna Shuttleworth Holden. He received his initial education at [Cheltenham College](/source/Cheltenham_College) and was [commissioned](/source/Officer_(armed_forces)) into a [Territorial Army](/source/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)) (TA) unit, the [24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)](/source/24th_(County_of_London)_Battalion_(The_Queen's)) of the [London Regiment](/source/London_Regiment_(1908%E2%80%931938)), in April 1924.<ref name="Officers of the British Army" /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32933|page=3634|date=6 May 1924}}</ref> Senior was promoted to [major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)) in December 1934.<ref name="Officers of the British Army" />

In the late 1930s the London Regiment was disbanded and Senior's battalion became the 7th (Southwark) Battalion of the [Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)](/source/Queen's_Royal_Regiment_(West_Surrey)) and, in early 1938, he was made the [second-in-command](/source/second-in-command) of the battalion.<ref name="Officers of the British Army" /> In 1939, the TA was ordered to be doubled in size, due to the possibility of another war with [Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany), and Senior's battalion was split in two due to the number of new recruits joining up, his being designated the 1/7th and the new battalion the 2/7th. The [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) broke out in September 1939.

[[File:Ronald Henry Senior, 151st Brigade.jpg|thumb|left|Foreign Secretary [Anthony Eden](/source/Anthony_Eden) and Lieutenant General [William Morgan](/source/William_Duthie_Morgan) pose with Brigadier Senior and the staff of the [151st Infantry Brigade](/source/151st_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) on 29 May 1944.]]

In April 1940 Senior, who was by now [officer commanding](/source/officer_commanding) D Company, was sent to France with his battalion to reinforce the [British Expeditionary Force](/source/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)) (BEF). As part of the [131st Infantry Brigade](/source/131st_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) of the [44th (Home Counties) Division](/source/44th_(Home_Counties)_Division), the battalion was not to stay in France long as the [Battle of France](/source/Battle_of_France) began just a few weeks later, which resulted in the BEF being almost surrounded by the superior German [Wehrmacht](/source/Wehrmacht) forces and the BEF having to [retreat to the port of Dunkirk](/source/Battle_of_Dunkirk), from where they were [evacuated to England](/source/Dunkirk_evacuation). For his services during the relatively brief campaign in France and Belgium, Senior was awarded the [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) (DSO) and was later [mentioned in despatches](/source/mentioned_in_despatches).<ref name="Officers of the British Army" /><ref name="Brigadier R H Senior">{{Cite web|url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/colonels_and_co/commanding_officers/queens_west_surrey/brigadier-rh-senior.shtml|title=Brigadier R H Senior}}</ref>

Senior was later to command the 5th Battalion of the [Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment](/source/Queen's_Own_Royal_West_Kent_Regiment) from May–October 1942, seeing action at the [Battle of Alam el Halfa](/source/Battle_of_Alam_el_Halfa), before returning to the 1/7th Battalion of the Queen's, this time in command, during the [Second Battle of El Alamein](/source/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein). He led the battalion, which by now was part of the [7th Armoured Division](/source/7th_Armoured_Division_(United_Kingdom)), throughout the final stages of the [Western Desert campaign](/source/Western_Desert_campaign) and in the [Tunisian campaign](/source/Tunisian_campaign), until early 1943 when he was promoted to [brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom)) and assumed command of the [50th Division](/source/50th_(Northumbrian)_Infantry_Division)'s [151st Infantry Brigade](/source/151st_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) from Brigadier [Daniel Beak](/source/Daniel_Beak).<ref name="Officers of the British Army" /> The brigade had also seen service in Africa and soon fought in the [Allied invasion of Sicily](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily) from July–August 1943, and was eventually returned to the United Kingdom towards the end of 1943.

Senior and his brigade next fought in the [Normandy landings](/source/Normandy_landings) and the subsequent [battle of Normandy](/source/Operation_Overlord) which followed. Senior was [wounded in action](/source/wounded_in_action) soon after, however, and he spent the next few months recovering from his injuries before taking command of the [49th Division](/source/49th_(West_Riding)_Infantry_Division)'s [56th Infantry Brigade](/source/56th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) in late January 1945.<ref name="Brigadier R H Senior"/> One of his three battalion commanders was [Robert Bray](/source/Robert_Bray_(British_Army_officer)), who would become a four star general. Senior was to lead the 56th during the rest of the war, most notably during the [liberation of Arnhem](/source/liberation_of_Arnhem) in April. The [end of World War II in Europe](/source/end_of_World_War_II_in_Europe) followed soon afterward.<ref name="Brigadier R H Senior"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_S01.html#Senior_RH British Army Officers 1939–1945]
*[http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/colonels_and_co/commanding_officers/queens_west_surrey/brigadier-rh-senior.shtml Brigadier R. H. Senior]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Senior/Ronald_Henry/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senior, Ronald}}
Category:1904 births
Category:1988 deaths
Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II
Category:Queen's Royal Regiment officers
Category:People educated at Cheltenham College
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:London Regiment officers
Category:Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Category:People from Chelsea, London

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