Lieutenant-General Sir William George Holmes KBE CB DSO & Bar (20 August 1892 – 16 January 1969) was a senior British Army officer who fought with distinction in the First World War.

[11] He attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1928 to 1929, alongside fellow students like Gerald Templer, John Harding, Richard McCreery and Alexander Galloway.

[5] On 14 June 1937, at the age of just 44, Holmes became the British Army's youngest major-general,[15][2] and after spending a period on half-pay, on 1 March 1938 got his first divisional command, the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, a TA formation.

[17] Following the fall of France and the retreat and evacuation from Dunkirk, Holmes was promoted to lieutenant-general (with seniority dated back to 10 July 1938)[18] and given command of the newly formed X Corps, which was stationed in Northern England, trying to ready itself to repel a German invasion.

[19] In November 1941, after being mentioned in despatches for his services so far in the Middle East,[20] Holmes became GOC British Troops in Egypt, in addition to his responsibilities as commander of X Corps.