Ronald Weeks, 1st Baron Weeks
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-General Ronald Morce Weeks, 1st Baron Weeks KCB
, CBE
, DSO
, MC
, TD
(13 November 1890 - 19 August 1960) was a British Army
General during the Second World War.
He was re-employed during the Second World War initially as Chief of Staff
for the Territorial Division and then as a Brigadier
on the General Staff of Home Forces in 1940. He was appointed Director General of Army Equipment in 1941 and Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1942. He then became Deputy Military Governor and Chief of Staff of the British Zone for the Allied Control Council
in Germany
in 1945; in that capacity he was involved in negotiations to avoid the Berlin Blockade
. He retired from the Army later that year.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(13 November 1890 - 19 August 1960) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
General during the Second World War.
Military career
Weeks was commissioned into the South Lanarkshire Regiment of the Territorial Army in 1913. He served in the Rifle Brigade during the First World War and then retired from military service in 1919.He was re-employed during the Second World War initially as Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
for the Territorial Division and then as a Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
on the General Staff of Home Forces in 1940. He was appointed Director General of Army Equipment in 1941 and Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1942. He then became Deputy Military Governor and Chief of Staff of the British Zone for the Allied Control Council
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1945; in that capacity he was involved in negotiations to avoid the Berlin Blockade
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
. He retired from the Army later that year.