Evered Poole Major General William Henry Evered Poole , CB , CBE , DSO , Commander of the US Legion of Merit , Commander of the French Légion d ' honneur , Croix de Guerre avec Palme , Mentioned in Despatches , was a South African soldier before and during World War II and afterwards a diplomat . Early life . In October 1901 , Major William John Evered Poole , previously of the 60th King ' s Royal Rifle Corps married Miss Constance van Breda , a member of one of the best - known Cape Colony families . William Henry Evered Poole was born in Caledon , Cape Colony on 8 October 1902 . As the first - born son , he was given Evered as his last name in accordance with age - old Poole tradition . He attended an Anglican , private , boys ' school , St Andrew ' s College in Grahamstown from 1911 – 1917 and the Diocesan College , informally known as “ Bishops ” , Rondebosch in 1918 . Military service prior to World War II . In 1920 , while a public servant , he joined the 9th Infantry Regiment ( Cape Peninsula Rifles ) of the Active Citizen Force as a private . He joined the Permanent Force in 1922 . He was placed first on the course for promotion to commissioned rank on 11 September 1923 . He was next posted as a lieutenant to the 3rd Battery SA Field Artillery and transferred to the SA Permanent Garrison Artillery at Cape Town in March 1925 , when he again qualified in the first place on a garrison gunnery course . In 1927 , he attended a staff duties course at the SA Military College at Roberts Heights and was attached to the SA Staff Corps at the college in 1929 , again passing out in the first place on a staff duties course of the PF in 1931 . Appointed officer instructor to the Transvaal Horse Artillery for 1931 - 32 , he qualified as a captain in the SA Field Artillery at the end of 1931 . In June 1932 , he was granted the temporary rank of captain as staff officer , ' A ' and ' G ' , in Cape Town and transferred to the staff corps . He was subsequently posted to the Special Service Battalion as second - in - command with the rank of major . He became the Officer Commanding of SSB in February 1934 . In June 1935 , he was granted the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel and was attached to the British Brigade of Guards at Aldershot , in London , and at Pirbright until September 1935 . For the rest of the year , he attended the Senior Officers ' School at Sheerness . He returned to South Africa to resume command of the SSB in 1936 . In October 1937 , he was transferred to the SA Military College and became Commandant of the college on 16 March 1938 . Following the Union ' s entry into the War in September 1939 , he organised the greatly expanded facilities at the College , including the huge ' B ' Mess dining halls seating 500 officer cadets . World War II . He was appointed GSO1 of 1st SA Division , with the rank of colonel , on its formation in August 1940 , but when the 2nd SA Division was formed he became its GSO1 on 1 October 1940 . In April 1941 , he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier . In June 1941 , he was transferred back to the 1st SA Division as brigadier to take command of the 2nd Infantry Brigade in Egypt . He saw active service with the Brigade at Mersa Matruh , commanding ' Braforce ' under the 2nd SA Division on the Egyptian frontier later in 1941 , and then with the 1st SA Division on the Gazala Line from February – May 1942 . He returned temporarily to South Africa as officer commanding Cape Fortress until rejoining his brigade at El Alamein in August 1942 . There he commanded the brigade in the final battle of Alamein in October – November 1942 . He returned to South Africa as second - in - command of the 1st SA Division . He took command , with the rank of major - general , of the 6th Armoured Division on its formation in February 1943 . He retained command throughout its training in the Middle East and subsequent service in Italy as part of the British 8th Army . After the liberation of Florence the division became part of the 5th US Army . At the end of the war , he became General Officer Administration of all South African troops in the Allied Central Mediterranean Force until their repatriation on 2 March 1946 . Post World War II service and Honours . In 1948 , he was passed over as Chief of Staff by the newly elected National Party government of Dr DF Malan and posted to Berlin to head the South African military mission there . After this he switched to a diplomatic career . He was subsequently appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Italy , Greece and Egypt , and in 1954 was transferred to Argentina and Chile . In 1960 , he became ambassador to Greece . In 1927 , he married Elsie Irene van Boeschoten and had one daughter . After the dissolution of the marriage in 1951 , he married Maureen Naish - Gray on 22 October 1951 . He was twice mentioned in dispatches , received the Distinguished Service Order , and was appointed a Companion in The Most Honourable Order of the Bath and a Commander in the Order of the British Empire . He was among the very few South Africans to become a Commander of the US Legion of Merit , and was also a Commander of the French Légion d ' honneur and received the Croix de Guerre avec Palme . He was a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem . Whilst ambassador to Greece , he was decorated with the Order of King George I in 1964 . St Andrew ' s College , Grahamstown , annually award the The General Evered Poole Cadet Cup to the winning house in the inter - house cadet competition . In his last years , he suffered from a lung ailment which forced his retirement in 1966 . In retirement , he spent half the year at his home in Hermanus , Cape Province , and the other half in Greece , aboard the Poole ' s yacht " Estrellita " . He died on 9 March 1969 .