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in: Adair (surname), Born in 1897, Died in 1988,
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Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet Adair (1897-1988)

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  • Commander, 13th Infantry Division (1945–46)
  • Commander, Guards Division (1945)
  • Commander, Guards Armoured Division (1942–45)
  • Commander, 6th Guards Armoured Brigade (1941–42)
  • Commander, 30th Independent Infantry Brigade (1940–41)
  • Commander, 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards (1940)

Biography

Major General Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet, GCVO, CB, DSO, MC & Bar, JP, DL- a senior officer of the British Army who served in both World wars; as a company commander in the Grenadier Guards in World War I, and as General Officer Commanding of the Guards Armoured Division in World War II.

Maj. Gen. Alan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet Adair was born 3 November 1897 in Marylebone, Greater London, England, United Kingdom to Robert Shafto Adair, 5th Baronet Adair (1862-1949) and Mary Bosanquet (1862-1950) and died 4 August 1988 Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom of unspecified causes. He married Enid Violet Ida Ward (1897-1984) 28 April 1919 .

Early life

Adair was born in London, the only son of his parents[1] and he attended Harrow School between 1912 and 1916.

Military career

First World War

Adair fought in the First World War. He joined the British Army, receiving his commission as a probationary second lieutenant on 2 May 1916 in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Grenadier Guards.[1] From January 1917 onwards he served in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, with the rank of lieutenant.[1] The battalion was part of the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Guards Division.[1] Adair's first major battle was in the pursuit of the retreating German Army to the Hindenburg Line.[2] The division then took part in the Battle of Passchendaele. Adair, however, took no part in the battle, due to an injury sustained in a bicycle accident in early July 1917. He returned to the battalion in January 1918.[2]

Adair was awarded his first Military Cross (MC) on 2 December 1918. The citation read:

For conspicuous gallantry and resource while in command of the support company. Owing to thick fog the leading company lost direction and failed to turn up. He led his company correctly into position and then made several personal reconnaissances under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, and cleared up the situation. He captured the objectives without the assistance of tanks or artillery, and broke up a hostile counter-attack the following morning.[3]

With the acting rank of captain, Adair was Officer Commanding 2 Company from 22 September to 11 November 1918,[1] receiving his second MC after the war on 2 April 1919 "for conspicuous gallantry and skill at Preux-au-Sart, on 4 November 1918. In command of the left front company, which was held up by an organised line of machine guns, he so manoeuvred his platoons as to capture the line with a minimum of casualties. Although wounded in the leg, he continued in command until relieved the following day".[1]

Interbellum

After the armistice of 11 November 1918 Adair's battalion returned to London, where on 29 June 1920 he received his permanent lieutenant's commission, with seniority backdated to 2 August 1918. On 29 September 1923 he was promoted to captain in the 2nd Battalion. He was promoted to major on 22 May 1932, and returned to the 3rd Battalion to serve as second-in-command until 11 April 1940, seven months after the Second World War broke out.

Second World War

After a short time as Chief Instructor at 161 Infantry Officer Cadet Training Unit at Sandhurst, he returned to his regiment on 8 May 1940 where he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion with the rank of acting lieutenant colonel.[1] The battalion, forming part of the 1st Guards Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division (the former commanded by Brigadier Merton Beckwith-Smith and the latter by Major General Harold Alexander, both, like Adair, Guardsmen), soon found themselves in the thick of the fighting during the battles of Belgium and France, and held the perimeter against German attacks during the Dunkirk evacuation. Lance Corporal Harry Nicholls from Adair's battalion was awarded one of the first Victoria Crosses of the war.

Adair was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 19 September 1940, and on 17 October 1940 was appointed Commander of the 30th Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards), re-designated the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade on 15 September 1941, with the rank of temporary brigadier.[1]

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU479

Scenes of jubilation as British troops liberate Brussels, 4 September 1944. Major General A. H. S. Adair, GOC Guards Armoured Division, acknowledges the crowd from his Cromwell command tank.

From 12 September 1942 until December 1945 Adair was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Guards Armoured Division, taking over from Oliver Leese, receiving promotion to colonel on 30 June 1943, while serving as an acting and then temporary major general from 21 September 1942.[1] After training the division throughout the United Kingdom for 21 months, the Guards Armoured Division arrived in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 28 June 1944 as part of Lieutenant General Sir Richard O'Connor's VIII Corps, first seeing action during Operation Goodwood in July, and then in Operation Bluecoat in July/August. Following the Allied break-out from Normandy they advanced across Northern France and into Belgium as part of Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks' XXX Corps.[4] The division liberated Brussels, after making an unprecedented advance from Douai, 97 miles (156 km) away, in only 14 hours.[5] The division then took a leading role in the ground advance in Operation Market Garden in September. Held in reserve during the Battle of the Bulge in December, it was committed to the Battle of the Reichswald (Operation Veritable) in February and March 1945. After advancing through Germany and the German surrender in May 1945 the Guards Armoured Division remained as part of the occupying forces, but on 12 June 1945 was converted into an infantry formation, the Guards Division.[4]

From December 1945, three months after the surrender of Japan, until November 1946 Adair served as GOC of the 13th Infantry Division, based in Greece during the Civil War, and receiving promotion to major general on 25 July 1946, with seniority from 12 November 1944.[1] He finally retired from active service on 11 March 1947, but remained in the Regular Army Reserve of Officers until reaching the mandatory retirement age on 3 November 1957, his 60th birthday.[1]

Later life

Opening Bevrijdingsmuseum in Nijmegen en herdenking Operatie Market Garden V.l

Opening of the National Liberation Museum in Nijmegen and commemoration of Operation Market Garden, 17 September 1984; from left to right: Prince Bernhard; British former Major-General Sir Allan HS Adair (former comnander of the Guards Armoured Division); former US Lieutenant General James M. Gavin (former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division).

Adair was appointed Exon in the Yeomen of the Guard, the ceremonial bodyguards to the monarch, on 21 November 1947,[6] receiving promotion to Ensign on 30 June 1950[7] and then to Lieutenant on 31 August 1951,[8] before finally retiring on 14 November 1967.[9]

He served as a Governor of Harrow School from 1947 until 1952, was Colonel of the Grenadier Guards from 1961 to 1974, and a Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons from 1969 to 1976.[1]

He also served as Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim, and as a Justice of the Peace for the county of Suffolk.[1]

Adair Baronets

Adair Baronetcy, of Flixton Hall in the County of Suffolk, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom given to a distinguished branch of the Adair Family.[10] It was created on 2 August 1838 for Robert Adair. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baronet, Robert who sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge. In 1873 he was created Baron Waveney, of South Elmham in the County of Suffolk, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom for services rendered as Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim and Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Victoria of England.[11] The barony became extinct on his death in 1886 while he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his younger brother, Hugh Adair, the third Baronet. The latter had earlier represented Ipswich in Parliament. Two of his sons, the fourth and fifth Baronets, both succeeded in the title. The fifth Baronet's son, the sixth Baronet, was a Major-General in the British Army during World War II. The title became extinct on the latter's death in 1988.

Adair died on 4 August 1988 at the age of 90. With no surviving sons, his baronetcy, Adair Baronets, became extinct.


Ballymena Castle

Ballymena Castle Antrim

From a postcard of the early 20th Century.

Ballymena Castle was a large estate located in the village of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The land was first given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, with a right to hold two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. As of 2018, the Saturday market still runs.

The Adairs were active in helping Scotch settlers settle the "Ulster Plantation" in Northern Ireland. In the 1600s Sir Robert Adair (d. 1655) built Ballymena Castle as a centre for their Irish estates. But a great portion of the Adair Family continued at their main residence in Kilhilt Tower in Wigtownshire, Scotland. For time Ballymena was renamed "Kinhiltshire".

In 1865, one of the key descendants, Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (2nd Baronet Adair) made extensive modifications to the castle. But in the 20th century, the placed was little used, becoming victim to vandalism and arson before being sold and demolished in 1957. The Adairs sold much of the surrounding landholdings to their tenants.

bt.]], who was a London barrister with literary and musical interests, lived principally at Flixton, but the house there deteriorated during the Second World War, and when his son Maj-Gen. Sir Allan Adair (1897-1988) inherited, he sold the contents and the house in 1950, and it was pulled down shortly afterwards.

Ballymena Castle was little used in the 20th century. The house was still standing in 1953 but was subject to vandalism and arson and was sold and demolished in 1957. Sir Allan served as Lieutenant of HM Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard from 1951-67 and lived at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate and after his retirement at Harleston and Raveningham (Norfolk). His only son having been killed in action in 1943, the line of the Adairs of Flixton and Ballymena ended with him; the chieftainship of the Adair Clan passed to his second cousin, Dr. Allan Adair (1907-2008), whose achievement of a centenary highlights the notable longevity of many members of the family from the 17th century onwards.

Family

He married Enid Violet Ida Ward (1897-1984), daughter of William Humble Dudley Ward and Hon. Eugenie Violet Adele Brett, on 28 April 1919. They had two sons; Lieutenant Desmond Allan Shafto Adair (1920–1943), killed in action in Italy,[12] and Robert Dudley Shafto Adair (1923–1925), and three daughters; Bridget Mary Adair (b. 1928), Juliet Enid Adair (b. 1930) and Annabel Violet Adair (b. 1937).[13]


  1. Desmond Allan Shafto Adair (1920-1943) - Captain in the Grenadier Guards Btn in WWII, where he died in combat at Mount Camino, Italy. 10-Nov-1943.
  2. Robert Dudley Shafto Adair (1923-1925) = died young
  3. Bridget Mary Adair (1928-2018)
  4. Juliet Enid Adair (1930-1989)
  5. Annabel Violet Adair (1937-2018)



Children


Offspring of Maj Gen Alan Adair and Enid Violet Ida Ward (1897-1984)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Desmond Allan Shafto Adair (1920-1943) 10 April 1920 10 November 1943 Mount Camino, Italy
Robert Dudley Shafto Adair (1923-1925)
Bridget Mary Adair (1928-2018)
Juliet Enid Adair (1930-1989)
Annabel Violet Adair (1937-2018)



Siblings


Offspring of Robert Shafto Adair, 5th Baronet Adair (1862-1949) and Mary Bosanquet (1862-1950)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Camilla Mary Shafto Adair (1895-1981)
Robert Desmond Shafto Adair (1896-1896)
Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet Adair (1897-1988) 3 November 1897 Marylebone, Greater London, England, United Kingdom 4 August 1988 Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom Enid Violet Ida Ward (1897-1984)

Residences

Vital Records

St Albans Gravestone

AlanAdairG


References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hans Houterman & Jeroen Koppes. "British Army Officers 1939–1945 (Acarnley to Aizlewood)". unithistories.com. http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_A04.html#Adair_AHS. 
  2. ^ a b Doherty, pps. 167–168
  3. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 29 November 1918.
  4. ^ a b "Guards Armoured Division". britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk. http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/aqadmin/media/uploads/4ccbd49eaa038_Guards%20Armoured%20Division%20(1944-45).pdf. 
  5. ^ "Adair, Sir Allan". ww2guards.com. http://www.ww2guards.com/ww2guards/Photos/Pages/ADAIR,_SIR_ALLAN.html. 
  6. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 21 November 1947.
  7. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 30 June 1950.
  8. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 31 August 1951.
  9. ^

    You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist

    , 14 November 1967.
  10. ^ London Gazette #19631 - 03-Jul-1838, pg 1488
  11. ^ London Gazette #23964 - 04-Apr-1873, Pg 1822
  12. ^ "Casualty Details: Adair, Desmond Allan Shafto". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2016. http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2607913/ADAIR,%20DESMOND%20ALLAN%20SHAFTO. 
  13. ^ Townend, Peter (1970). "Maj.-Gen. Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Bt.". Burke's Peerage and Baronetage (105th ed.). London, UK: Burke's Peerage Ltd.. http://thepeerage.com/p1471.htm#i14704. 

See Also

Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Robert Shafto Adair, 5th Baronet Adair (1862-1949) 		Baronet Adair
(of Flixton Hall, Suffolk)
1949-1988 		Succeeded by
Extinct



Footnotes (including sources)

MainTour

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