Gerald Templer

Army officer

Died when: 81 years 44 days (973 months)
Star Sign: Virgo

 

Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the world wars.

As Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1955 to 1958, he was Prime Minister Anthony Eden's chief military adviser during the Suez Crisis.

He is also credited as a founder of the United Kingdom's National Army Museum.He is best known for implementing strategies that heavily contributed to the defeat of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) during the Malayan Emergency.

Although some historians have described his approach as a successful example of a "hearts and minds" campaign, other scholars have dismissed this as a myth due to his reliance on population control and coercion.

Despite the ethics of his actions being hotly debated in the British parliament, many of the strategies he implemented were later implemented (largely unsuccessfully) by the United States in Vietnam.

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