Colonel William Alexander Camac Wilkinson, DSO, MC & Bar, GM (6 December 1892 – 19 September 1983) was a highly decorated British Army officer and English cricketer.

After the Second World War he spent some time in Graz, Austria, as Senior Military Government Officer in the occupation forces.

[1] Born in Sydney on 6 December 1892, he was the son of Middlesex cricketer William Wilkinson, who was at that time in practice as a doctor in the city.

[8] He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 26 September 1917,[9] and the citation was published on 9 January 1918, reading:[10] Lt. William Alexander Camac Wilkinson C.

Having led them in the attack, he walked up and down during consolidation, regardless of the fact that enemy snipers were firing at very close range, urging his men to greater efforts so that they should get quickly under

[14] On 2 January 1928 he was seconded to act as adjutant of a Territorial Army unit, the Honourable Artillery Company,[15] holding the appointment until his promotion to major on 1 March 1931.

[18] Recalled to the army with the start of the Second World War, Wilkinson was a temporary lieutenant colonel commanding the 14th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) when a number of his men strayed into a minefield.

Royal Engineers had been sent for to clear the mines, and a doctor who happened to be present gave the opinion that the wounded man was unlikely to survive.

Whilst the doctor was talking to the other officer present, Wilkinson entered the minefield, and managed to bring out the wounded man single-handed.

For those actions, Wilkinson was awarded the George Medal (GM) on 8 July 1941, as was the Royal Engineer officer, Major Arthur Henry Musgrave Norris, who subsequently cleared the remainder of the minefield, and Regimental Sergeant Major Ernest Joseph Legg (West Surreys) and Lance-Sergeant Harry Fred Hardy (RE), who assisted.

Wilkinson later described the landing to his opposite number of 100th HAA Rgt as 'A very pleasant exercise in Combined Operations with sufficient enemy fire to make it mildly interesting'.

[22][23] Wilkinson was still commanding 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment when on 13 May 1944, during the final stages of the Battle of Monte Cassino he performed the actions that led to his award of the Distinguished Service Order on 21 September 1944.

Wilkinson proceeded to cross the bridge on foot, under mortar and small arms fire, carrying replacement smoke canisters.

[26] The retirement was ostensibly because he had exceeded the age limit for service, but his obituary in The Times stated that it was due to his disagreement with the official policy of forcible repatriation to Russia.

[2][26] He made many subsequent visits to the region, and in 1977 was awarded the Grand Gold Medal of Honour by the Styrian provincial government.

Shortly before his death, he attended a dinner given in his honour at Goodwood House by the then Landeshauptmann (provincial governor), Dr Joseph Krainer.

[29] He did, however, have a substantial first-class career, spanning more than a quarter of a century, making his debut for HK Foster's XI against Oxford University during the 1912 English cricket season.

[29] During the season he again played a handful of non-first-class matches, for the Old Etonians against the Old Harrovians, for the Army against a Public Schools XI, and for the MCC against a combined Minor Counties team.

[1] He took twelve wickets at an average of 32.08, with his best innings bowling figures of 4/32[27] being for Oxford University[36] against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI[37] in the 1913 English cricket season.