Eric Hayes

Eric Hayes
Eric Charles Hayes.
Born	19 June 1896
Died	25 August 1951 (aged 55)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1915–1947
Rank	Major-General
Unit	Norfolk Regiment
Commands held	2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment Infantry Company Commanders' School 169th Infantry Brigade 3rd Infantry Division Nigeria Area East Central District of England
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath

Major-General Eric Charles Hayes CB (19 June 1896 – 25 August 1951) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 3rd Infantry Division.

Military career

Educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,^[1] Hayes was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Norfolk Regiment in 1915 during the First World War and saw action in Mesopotamia and Persia.^[2] He also served in the Second World War as Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment in France from 1939, as Commandant of the Infantry Company Commanders' School from early in 1940 and as Commander of 169th (London) Infantry Brigade from later in 1940 before becoming General Officer Commanding 3rd Infantry Division in November 1941.^[2] He continued his war service as Commander of the Nigeria Area in West Africa from January 1943^[3] and as Commander of the East Central District in England from late 1943 before becoming the commander of British forces in China in 1944.^[4] In that capacity he witnessed Japan's surrender in China in September 1945.^[4] He retired from the British Army in 1947.^[5]

References

1. ‘HAYES, Major-General Eric Charles’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016
2. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
3. West Africa Command
4. "Witnessing Japan's surrender in China". BBC News. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
5. Generals.dk