Richard Gale (British Army officer)

Sir Richard Gale
Nickname(s)	"Windy"[1]
Born	(1896-06-25)25 June 1896 Wandsworth, London, England
Died	29 July 1982(1982-07-29) (aged 86) Kingston upon Thames, London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1915–1960
Rank	General
Service number	20116
Unit	Worcestershire Regiment Machine Gun Corps Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Commands held	Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (1958–60) British Army of the Rhine (1952–57) British Troops in Egypt (1948–49) 1st Infantry Division (1946–47) I Airborne Corps (1945) 6th Airborne Division (1943–45) 1st Parachute Brigade (1941–42) 2/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (1940–41)
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War Palestine Emergency
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre (France) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)

General Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (25 June 1896 – 29 July 1982) was a senior officer in the British Army who served in both world wars. In the First World War he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps. During the Second World War he served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division during the D-Day landings and Operation Tonga in 1944. After the end of the conflict, Gale remained in the army and eventually, in 1958, succeeded Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.