Page "Willoughby Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie" Paragraph 3

On the outbreak of World War II Norrie continued to serve as commander of 1st Armoured Brigade.

In April 1940 the brigade was part of 2nd Armoured Division which he was given temporary command of for a month between appointments of permanent commanders.

Following this he was appointed acting major-general and became Inspector of the Royal Armoured Corps.

Four months later he became GOC 1st Armoured Division and was promoted to the permanent rank of major-general in June 1941.

In November 1941 the division was ordered to Egypt where Norrie found himself appointed acting lieutenant-general to command XXX Corps in the place of Vyvyan Pope who had died in an air crash shortly before Norrie's arrival in Egypt.

He commanded XXX Corps during Operation Crusader with some success but his tanks suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Gazala in June 1942.

He was criticised for his " cavalry " approach to armoured warfare and Eighth Army commander Claude Auchinleck replaced him in July.

He returned to Britain to be appointed Commander of the Royal Armoured Corps in which role he was to give advice on armoured warfare to Bernard Paget, the C-in-C Home Forces.

He continued as Paget's advisor when Paget became commander of 21st Army Group on its formation in July 1943 but when Bernard Montgomery assumed command early in 1944, he brought his own advisor.

In April 1944 Norrie was appointed Head of the Military Mission to the French Committee of National Liberation ( CFLN ) in Algiers, a post he held until the middle of 1944 when he was proposed by the Secretary of State for the Dominions to become Governor of South Australia.