Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis and Baron Rideau of Ottawa (December 10 1891 - June 16 1969) was a British military commander and Field Marshal, notably during World War II as the commander of the 15th Army Group.
A career soldier, he was educated at Harrow School and Sandhurst Military Academy. He was commissioned in the Irish Guards in 1911. During World War I he served on the Western Front, was wounded twice. He received the Military Cross in 1915, the Distinguished Service Order in 1916, and the Legion of Honour, and by 1918 was a brigadier.
Between the wars Alexander led the Baltic Landwehr in Latvia during the Russian Civil War and served in Turkey and Gibraltar before returning to England and the Staff College at Camberley and the Imperial Defense College. On October 14, 1931, he married Lady Margaret Diana Bingham, second daughter of the Earl of Lucan. In 1937 he was promoted to major general and joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).