Lewis Heath

Heath was born 23 November 1885, the son of Col. Lewis Forbes Heath of the British Indian Army.[2] He was educated at Wellington College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He joined the British Indian Army in 1905.[1][3]

In 1915, Heath married Marjorie, daughter of Brigadier General A. B. H. Drew, and had three sons and two daughters. In 1941, he remarried Kathleen Longeron of Auckland and had another son.[1][2]

Heath joined the Indian Army on 18 January 1905[3] and served with the King's African Rifles from 1909 to 1913.[2][3] He was promoted to captain on 18 January 1914.[2][3] He saw action in the First World War where he was injured losing an eye and suffering permanent damage to his left arm.[3] He was subsequently awarded the Military Cross.[2][3] Following the war he fought in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and served in East Persia from 1919 to 1921. He was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in India and Afghanistan between 30  May 1919 and 8 August 1919, and Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General between 9 August 1919 and 26  September 1919. On 18 January 1920, he was promoted to major.[3] Between 1919 and 1921 he was Commandant of the Seistan Levy Corps.[3] Between 21 November 1924 and 5 July 1928 Heath served as Assistant Commandant and Commandant Indian Wing, at the Army School of Education, India.[3] He transferred to the 10/14 Punjab Regiment in 1928.[3] He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment in 1929 and was deployed to the North-West Frontier in India in 1930 and 1932.[2][3] On 1 January 1929 Heath was promoted to battalion lieutenant colonel and then lieutenant colonel on 6 December 1929.[2] On 6 May 1932, Heath was promoted to battalion colonel.[3] He received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 8 September 1933 and was promoted to colonel on 9 January 1934.[3][2] He became an instructor at the Senior Officers School, Belgaum, India in 1934[3] and Brigade Commander, Wana Brigade in 1936,[2] in which capacity he was deployed to the North West Frontier in 1937.[3] In 1939, Heath was awarded the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1939 and promoted to Major General on 20 January of the same year.[3][2] He went on to be Commander 7th Indian Division of the Deccan District in 1939.[3]

Heath achieved success as the General Officer Commanding the 5th Indian Infantry Division during the East African Campaign. [4] Heath was appointed lieutenant general on 10 May 1941 and was awarded the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on 30 May 1941.[3] He was appointed to command III Indian Corps on 26 April 1941 as part of the Malaya Command, which then participated in the Battle of Malaya.[3] He was unable to stop the Japanese advance and had conflicting opinions on how to conduct the campaign with his commanding officer, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival.[5] He was captured during the Battle of Singapore, and held in prison in Singapore, Formosa, and Manchukuo (Manchuria) between 1942 and 1945.[3] He retired on 13 April 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant-general.[3]

• Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War, Nick Smart. ISBN 1-84415-049-6.

• Unit Histories-Officers of the Indian Army