Edward Willis
Born5 September 1870
Died26 June 1961
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1890–1934
RankMajor-General
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Major-General Edward Henry Willis, CB, CMG (5 September 1870 – 26 June 1961) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.

Background

Willis was the second son of Henry Scott Willis, a wool merchant of Northfield, Trowbridge, Wiltshire.[1] His elder brother took over the family wool business, having served as a supernumerary captain (honorary major) with The Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment, and his younger brother was a provincial commissioner in Northern Rhodesia.[2]

Military career

Willis was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) as a second-lieutenant on 14 February 1890,[3] promoted to lieutenant on 14 February 1893, and to captain on 19 January 1900.[4] He was attached to the 60th battery RFA which was stationed in British India until November 1902, when he was in command as they returned home.[5] They were subsequently stationed at Ballinrobe, County Mayo.[6]

After serving in World War I, he was appointed major general, Royal Artillery in 1921 and Director of the Royal Artillery in 1927.[7] He became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey in 1929[8][9] and retired in 1934.[8]

Later life

Having been appointed CB, CMG and received the Order of St Stanislaus, 2nd Class (with swords)[10] in the course of his career, Willis died at his house, Westlands, at Saint Brélade, Jersey on 26 June 1961. In 1904 he married Sarah Augusta Barlow, daughter of Micah Barlow.[11] Their son, Major John Henry Willis, M.C., of the 12th Lancers, was the second husband of the actress Hermione Baddeley, from 1940 until their 1946 divorce.[12][13] In 1925, he married Ellis Mary, daughter of Alexander William Duke.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Marlborough College Register from 1843 to 1904 inclusive, fifth edition, 1905, pg 370, pg 451
  2. ↑ Northern Rhodesia Blue Book for the year ended 31 December 1929, pg A-89
  3. ↑ "No. 26026". The London Gazette. 25 February 1890. p. 1044.
  4. ↑ "No. 27168". The London Gazette. 23 February 1900. p. 1257.
  5. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36919. London. 7 November 1902. p. 6.
  6. ↑ Hart′s Army list, 1903
  7. ↑ "Senior Army appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Government House, Jersey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "No. 33496". The London Gazette. 17 May 1929. p. 3312.
  10. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 Feb. 1917, pg 1600
  11. ↑ "Marriages at St John the Evangelist in the District of Pendlebury, Salford: Marriages recorded in the Register for 1891 – 1909". Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  12. ↑ The Unsinkable Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Baddeley, Collins, 1984, pg 114
  13. ↑ Stage and Screen Lives, Michael Billington, 2001, pg 23
  14. ↑ "Archives and collections online".
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