Eric Paytherus Nares

Born the youngest son of Ramsey Nares[1] and educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[1] Eric Nares was commissioned into the Cheshire Regiment on 20 September 1911.[2] Among his fellow graduates were two future generals, Kenneth Anderson and Montagu Stopford.[3]

He served in World War I[3] and was wounded twice, three times mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross (MC)[4] with a bar.[5] After the war he served with the West African Frontier Force until 1924.[3] He attended, from 1927 to 1928, the Staff College, Camberley, and later became a staff captain in China in 1931 and was made assistant adjutant and quartermaster general (AA&QMG) for the 8th Division in Palestine, during the Arab revolt, in 1936.[3]

The theatres where he served in World War II included the Middle East,[3] North Africa and Central Mediterranean including Italy. His World War II service was recognized by the crown when he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Later, his service in Italy, from January to November 1944, earned him the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) from President Harry Truman in 1946. His last post was Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin after the war.[3]

He died in London, on 18 June 1947 at Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital.[1] He was later cremated after a service at St Thomas-on-the-Bourne, Farnham, Surrey.[1] A memorial tablet for him was dedicated to him by his fellow officers in the sanctuary of the regimental chapel in Chester Cathedral.[1]

He was married to Jeanne Hubertine from the Netherlands,[1] but she died shortly after contracting sandfly fever after she accompanied him to Palestine.

• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eric P. Nares.

• Generals of World War II