Sir Allan Adair , 6th Baronet Major General Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair , 6th Baronet , GCVO , CB , DSO , MC & Bar , JP , DL ( 3 November 1897 — 4 August 1988 ) was a British Army general who served in both World Wars ; as a company commander in the Grenadier Guards in the First , and as Commanding Officer the Guards Armoured Division in the Second . Biography . Military career . Adair was born in London , the only son of Sir Robert Shafto Adair , 5th Baronet , and Mary Bosanquet . He was attended Harrow School between 1912 and 1916 , and then joined the Army , receiving his commission as a probationary second lieutenant on 2 May 1916 in the 5th ( Reserve ) Battalion of the Grenadier Guards . From December 1916 he served in France and Belgium as part of the 2nd Company , 3rd Battalion , Grenadier Guards , with the rank of lieutenant . Adair was awarded his first Military Cross on 2 December 1918 . The citation read : " For conspicuous gallantry and resource while in command of the support company . Owing to thick fog the leading company lost direction and failed to turn up . He led his company correctly into position and then made several personal reconnaissances under heavy machine - gun and rifle fire , and cleared up the situation . He captured the objectives without the assistance of tanks or artillery , and broke up a hostile counter - attack the following morning . " With the rank of Acting - Captain , Adair was Officer Commanding 2 Company from 22 September to 11 November 1918 , receiving his second Military Cross on 2 April 1919 " for conspicuous gallantry and skill at Preux - au - Sart , on 4 November 1918 . In command of the left front company , which was held up by an organised line of machine guns , he so manoeuvred his platoons as to capture the line with a minimum of casualties . Although wounded in the leg , he continued in command until relieved the following day . After the armistice with Germany Adair ' s battalion returned to London , where on 29 June 1920 he received his permanent lieutenant ' s commission , with seniority backdated to 2 August 1918 . On 29 September 1923 he was promoted to captain in the 2nd Battalion . He was promoted to major on 22 May 1932 , and returned to the 3rd Battalion to serve as second - in - command until 11 April 1940 . After a short time as Chief Instructor at 161 Infantry Officer Cadet Training Unit at Sandhurst , he returned to his regiment on 8 May 1940 where he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion with the rank of acting lieutenant - colonel . The Guards soon found themselves in the thick of the fighting during the Battle of France , and held the perimeter against German attacks during the Dunkirk evacuation . Adair was promoted to lieutenant - colonel on 19 September 1940 , and on 17 October 1940 was appointed Commander of the 30th Independent Infantry Brigade ( Guards ) , re - designated the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade on 15 September 1941 , with the rank of temporary brigadier . From 12 September 1942 until December 1945 Adair was General Officer Commanding of the Guards Armoured Division , receiving promotion to colonel on 30 June 1943 , while serving as an acting and then temporary major - general from 21 September 1942 . The Guards Armoured Division arrived in Normandy on 28 June 1944 as part of VIII Corps , first seeing action during " Operation Goodwood " in July , and then in " Operation Bluecoat " in July / August . Following the Allied breakout they advanced across Northern France and into Belgium as part of XXX Corps . The division liberated Brussels , after making an unprecedented advance from Douai , away , in only 14 hours . The Division then took a leading role in the ground advance in " Operation Market Garden " in September . Held in reserve during the Battle of the Bulge , it was committed to the Battle of the Reichswald ( " Operation Veritable " ) in February and March 1945 . After the German surrender in May 1945 the Division remained as part of the occupying forces , but on 12 June 1945 was converted into an infantry division . From December 1945 until 14 November 1946 Adair served as General Officer Commanding the 13th Infantry Division , based in Greece during the Civil War , and receiving promotion to major - general on 25 July 1946 , with seniority from 12 November 1944 . He finally retired from active service on 11 March 1947 , but remained in the Regular Army Reserve of Officers until reaching the mandatory retirement age on 3 November 1957 . Post war activities . Adair was appointed Exon in the Yeomen of the Guard , the ceremonial bodyguards to the monarch , on 21 November 1947 , receiving promotion to Ensign on 30 June 1950 and then to Lieutenant on 31 August 1951 , before finally retiring on 14 November 1967 . He served as a Governor of Harrow School from 1947 until 1952 , was Colonel of the Grenadier Guards from 1961 to 1974 , and a Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons from 1969 to 1976 . He also served as Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim , and as a Justice of the Peace for the county of Suffolk . Personal life . On 28 April 1919 Adair married Enid Violet Ida Ward . They had two sons ; Captain Desmond Allan Shafto Adair ( 1920 – 1943 ) , killed in action in Italy , and Robert Dudley Shafto Adair ( 1923 – 1925 ) , and three daughters ; Bridget Mary Adair ( b . 1928 ) , Juliet Enid Adair ( b . 1930 ) and Annabel Violet Adair ( b . 1937 ) . Adair succeeded his father as 6th Baronet on 9 October 1949 inheriting the family home of Flixton Hall in Suffolk . However the burden of its upkeep and maintenance , combined with heavy death duties meant that he was obliged to sell the property in 1950 . In his 1986 memoir , Adair described Flixton Hall as " a vast , uncomfortable mausoleum , with no proper central heating . In winter the children had to wear their overcoats when moving from room to room " . It was demolished within two years . Adair then settled in the village of Raveningham , Norfolk . Adair died in 4 August 1988 at the age of 90 . With no surviving sons his title became extinct .