Alan Hartley

General Sir Alan Fleming Hartley, (24 October 1882 – 7 December 1954) was a British Indian Army officer during the Second World War.

Military career Born in 1882, the son of Dr. Reginald Hartley, Hartley was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry as a second lieutenant on 8 January 1901.

Hartley first saw active service in the Second Boer War (from May 1901 to May 1902), where he was for a period aide-de-camp to Major-General R. A. P. Clements. After the end of this war, he joined the 1st Battalion of his regiment as it was sent to India in November 1902, where it was stationed in Wellington, Madras Presidency. He was promoted to lieutenant on 10 May 1905 (seniority 5 June 1903), transferred to the Indian Army and appointed to the 11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse) that year.

Hartley served in the First World War in France, the Balkans and Mesopotamia, being mentioned in despatches three times and appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. He was promoted to captain on 8 January 1910, to major in June 1917, and to acting lieutenant-colonel in 1917, commanding the 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment at Salonika. from May 1921 to July 1924 Hartley was a general staff officer grade 2 in India and from December 1924 to December 1926 he was an instructor at the Staff College, Quetta. He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1931. A brigadier by 1935, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1936 New Year Honours and promoted to major-general on 9 January 1936. He was appointed officiating commander of Waziristan District from May to December 1937, then formally appointed to command from December 1937 to July 1938, where he was again mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 18 February 1938. He was appointed commander of Rawalpindi District in July 1938.

By the start of the Second World War, Hartley was commander of Rawalpindi District. He was promoted to general in the Indian Army on 27 January 1941 and knighted in that year's Birthday Honours list as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India. In January 1942 he succeeded General Sir Archibald Wavell for a short time as Commander-in-Chief, India. He was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in January 1944. He retired 29 February 1944.

Family In 1914 Hartley married Phillippa, daughter of P. H. Osborne of Australia. She was decorated with the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal in Gold in 1943.