James Hill (British Army officer)

Brigadier Stanley James Ledger Hill DSO amp Two Bars, MC was an officer of the British Army, who served as commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade, part of the 6th Airborne Division, during World War II. Born in Bath, Somerset, Hill was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst before joining the British Army in 1931 and being commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers. He commanded a platoon for a short period, and was then attached to the command post of Field Marshal Lord Gort during the Battle of France in May 1940, where he oversaw the evacuation of Brussels as well as the beach at De Panne during the evacuation of Dunkirk. After a brief period of time in the Irish Free State, he volunteered for parachute training and joined the 1st Parachute Battalion, and was its commanding officer when its parent formation, the 1st Parachute Brigade, was deployed to North Africa.

Hill was born onMarch 1911, in Bath, Somerset, the son of Major General Walter Hill. He was educated at Marlborough College, where he was the head of the colleges Officer Training Corps, and then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst there he won the Sword of Honour and became captain of athletics. He joined the British Army in 1931, being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant into the Royal Fusiliers , the regiment which his father commanded. He ran the regimental athletic and boxing associations during his service with the regiment, and in 1936 transferred to the Supplementary Reserve in order to marry his first wife, Denys GunterJones. For the next three years he worked as part of his familys ferry company.

Source: Wikipedia