British general, chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, who signed the 1944 Bulgarian armistice
Born in Edinburgh and educated at Winchester and Oxford, he was commissioned in 1913. In the First World War he fought in France and at Gallipoli and served on the staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, winning the Military Cross twice and the DSO. In 1940 he was chief of staff of Allied Forces Norway, then commanded the 3rd Infantry Division; from 1941 he led XII Corps and from 1942 Eastern Command, defending southern and eastern England and running large exercises. In January 1944 he became chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, and on 28 October 1944 in Moscow signed the Bulgarian armistice with Tolbukhin as the Supreme Allied Commander's representative. After the war he headed the British Military Mission to Moscow, and retired in May 1946.
Also known as: James Andrew Harcourt Gammell · Sir James Gammell
Activities and affiliations
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1913–1946
United Kingdom state institutionsChief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander MediterraneanMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1913Commissioned into the Scottish Horse
- 1940Chief of staff, Allied Forces Norway; GOC 3rd Infantry Division
- 1941–1942Commander, XII Corps
- 1942–1943GOC-in-C Eastern Command
- 1944–1945Chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean; signs the Bulgarian armistice
- 1945–1946Head of the British Military Mission to Moscow