William Platt General Sir William Platt GBE , KCB , DSO ( born 1885 ; died 1975 ) was an officer in the British Army , the Australian Army , and the New Zealand Army during the First and Second World Wars . Early years . Platt was educated at Marlborough College and Royal Military College , Sandhurst . In 1908 , Platt was commissioned into the Northumberland Fusiliers . From 1908 to 1914 he served on the North West Frontier in India where he won a Distinguished Service Order and was mentioned in dispatches for the first of a remarkable six such citations . Platt was promoted to Captain in 1914 . First World War . From 1914 to 1918 , Platt fought in France and Belgium during the European War . Between 1915 and 1916 , he was promoted to Brigade - Major of the 103rd Infantry Brigade . Between 1916 and 1917 , Platt was made a General Staff Officer , Grade 2 , of the 21st Division . In 1917 , he was made a General Staff Officer , Grade 2 , of II Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in France . This corps was later reformed as the British XXII Corps . Between the wars . Between 1918 and 1920 , Platt was a General Staff Officer , Grade 1 , of the 37th Division . From 1920 to 1922 , he was a Brigade - Major , 12 Infantry Brigade , 1st Eastern Command and Galway Brigade , Irish Command . Platt was promoted to Major in 1924 and Lieutenant - Colonel in 1930 . From 1930 to 1933 , he was Officer Commanding , 2nd Battalion , Wiltshire Regiment . In 1933 , Platt was promoted to Colonel . From 1933 to 1934 , he was a General Staff Officer , Grade 1 , 3rd Division , Bulford . From 1934 to 1938 , Platt was the Brigadier commanding 7th Infantry Brigade . From 1937 to 1938 , he was aide - de - camp to the King . In 1938 , Platt was promoted to Major - General . Second World War . From 1938 to 1941 , Platt was Commandant of the Sudan Defence Force . In this role he carried the Arabic title of " al - qa ' id al - ' amm " ( " the Leader of the Army " ) and was often referred to simply as " the Kaid " . He commanded the forces invading Italian East Africa from Sudan during the East African Campaign . His primary units were the Indian 4th Infantry Division and the Indian 5th Infantry Division . After re - taking the abandoned Kassala railway junction in Sudan on 18 January 1941 , Platt advanced into Eritrea and captured Agordat on 28 January . He next faced strong Italian resistance at Keren . From 3 March to 1 April , Platt ' s leadership played a large part in the successful outcome of the Battle of Keren . The Eritrean capital , Asmara , was taken by the Indian 5th Infantry Division on 1 April while Keren was still being mopped up by the Indian 4th Infantry Division . After the battle of Keren , Platt lost the Indian 4th Infantry Division which returned to Egypt . On 8 April , the port city of Massawa surrendered . The forces still under Platt then marched on Amba Alagi . Platt , advancing from the Sudan , met the forces of Lieutenant - General Alan Cunningham , advancing from Kenya , at Amba Alagi . A large Italian force under Amedeo , Duke of Aosta , was dug in at Amba Alagi in what it considered impregnable positions . The British attacks started on 3 May . On 18 May , the Duke of Aosta surrendered his embattled force and the campaign in East Africa was all but over . In 1941 , Platt was promoted to lieutenant - general . From 1941 to 1945 , he was the General Officer and Commander - in - Chief of the East Africa Command , which although no longer a theatre of war was an important source of manpower . Platt raised seventeen new battalions of the King ' s African Rifles . From 1942 to 1954 , Platt was the honorary Colonel of the Wiltshire Regiment . He was promoted to General in 1943 . Honours and awards . In addition to his British honours , Platt also received the Egyptian Order of the Nile ( 1st Class ) in 1942 , the Grand Cross of the Star of Ethiopia in 1945 , and the French Légion d ' Honneur in 1945 . Aftermath . Platt retired with pay in April 1945 .