Allegiance United Kingdom Name Charles Loewen Rank General Battles/wars World War II Service/branch British Army | Unit Royal Artillery Battles and wars World War II Years of service 1916-1959 Died 1986 | |
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Commands held 1st Infantry Division
6th Armoured Division
50th Division
Anti-Aircraft Command
Western Command
Far East Land Forces Education Royal Military College of Canada Awards Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Order | ||
General Sir Charles Falkland Loewen, (17 September 1900 – 17 August 1986) was a Canadian born and educated soldier who became Adjutant-General to the Forces in the United Kingdom.
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Early life and military career
Educated at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, where he enrolled in 1916, Charles Loewen joined the British Army in 1918 where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Field Artillery during the close of World War I as he was too young for active service with the Canadian Army. He was promoted to lieutenant on 17 March 1920, and to captain on 17 September 1931.
He was a student at the Staff College, Quetta in 1933, and was promoted to brevet major on 2 July 1937. Promoted to major the following year, he served in India with the local rank of lieutenant colonel (from 1 November 1938). Loewen was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1939.
World War II
Promoted to war substantive lieutenant colonel in 1941, in World War II he served as Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) in the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, then 6th Infantry Division, then 1st Infantry Division and finally I Corps. He saw active service during the Norwegian Campaign and took part in planning in the War Office. He was promoted to colonel on 30 June 1943 (seniority from 1 July 1942). In 1943, he drafted Operation Skyscraper to occur on the beaches of Normandy. The plan was shelved as it was thought to need too many resources. It was re-used and re-expanded in Operation Overlord back to the original ten divisions - which Skyscraper had recommended in the first place.
He was also involved in the Italian Campaign where he later served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British 1st Infantry Division from July 1944. As a temporary brigadier by 1944, he was appointed a CBE (Mil.) in the 1944 New Year Honours. He was promoted to the acting rank of major general on 24 July 1944, appointed a Companion of the DSO for distinguished service in Italy on 28 June 1945, appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 5 July and received a mention in dispatches on 19 July. He was promoted to temporary major-general on 24 July.
Postwar and retirement
After the war, Loewen was promoted to the permanent rank of major-general on 6 May 1946 (seniority from 30 August 1944). He took a number of commands including the 6th Armoured Division in 1946 and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division in 1948. He was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit in the degree of Commander on 14 May 1948. He was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Anti-Aircraft Command on 27 May 1950, with a promotion to lieutenant-general from the same date. Knighted with the KBE in the 1951 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Command on 23 April 1953.
He became Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Far East Land Forces on 13 October 1953. Appointed a KCB in the 1954 New Year Honours, following his promotion to general on 16 April, he went on to be Adjutant-General to the Forces in 1956. He retired from the British Army in 1959.
He was Aide-de-Camp General to the Queen from 1956 to 1959.
Loewen moved with his wife to be with his sons, Charles Bernard Loewen and John Falkland Loewen, and retired at The Boyne River Mill near to Mansfield. He was the author of a book entitled Fly fishing flies.
Honours & Legacy
Loewen, a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, is listed on the Wall of Honour in Kingston, Ontario.