William Swan (British Army officer)

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Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Bertram Swan KCVO CBE TD DL JP (19 September 1914 – 4 December 1990) was a British Army officer and agriculturalist.

Early life[edit]

Swan was eldest son of Nichol Allan Swan and Anne Gardener Keir. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and entered farming in 1933.[1]

Military career[edit]

On 13 May 1939 he was commissioned into the King's Own Scottish Borderers of the Territorial Army.[2] He served with the 4th Battalion of the regiment in the Battle of France. Between 1942 and 1945 Swan was seconded to the British Indian Army and served with the No. 1 Mule Training Regiment in Jullundu. Following the end of the Second World War, Swan returned to farming in Scotland.[3]

He served as Army Cadet Force County Commandant for Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk from 1955 to 1973 and was granted the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was a colonel in the Lowlands Territorial Army from 1983 to 1986.[4]

Agriculture[edit]

Swan was President of the National Farmers Union of Scotland from 1961 to 1962 and was President of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society from 1966 to 1968. He was a member of the Development Commission from 1964 to 1976.[5]

Honours and awards[edit]

Swan was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1968, having served as a Deputy Lieutenant in 1965. From 1969 to 1989 he was Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire and was invested as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in June 1988.[6][7] He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration for long service in the Territorial Army.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' in British Army Officers 1939–1945 at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015
  2. ^ "No. 34637". The London Gazette. 20 June 1939. p. 4158.
  3. ^ 'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' in British Army Officers 1939–1945 at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015
  4. ^ 'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' in British Army Officers 1939–1945 at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015
  5. ^ 'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' in British Army Officers 1939–1945 at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015
  6. ^ "No. 51365". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 March 1975. p. 4.
  7. ^ "No. 19635". The Edinburgh Gazette. 10 June 1988. p. 396.
  8. ^ 'Swan, Wiliam Bertram' in British Army Officers 1939–1945 at unithistories.com, accessed 2 July 2015
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