William Dimoline file photo [23823]

William Dimoline

SurnameDimoline
Given NameWilliam
Born1897
CountryUnited Kingdom
CategoryMilitary-Ground
GenderMale

Contributor:

ww2dbaseWilliam Alfred Dimoline was born in 1897 and was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom. In 1914, he was commissioned into the King's Regiment (Liverpool), a Territorial Force unit, as a second lieutenant. In the following year, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and in 1917 the rank of captain. In 1920, he was assigned to the East Surrey Regiment, with the peace time rank of second lieutenant. In 1922, he was transferred to the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. In 1923, he was transferred to the West African Frontier Force with a temporary rank of captain. In 1925, he was transferred to the Colonial Office. In 1927, he was promoted to the permanent rank of captain. Between 1933 and 1934, he studied at the Staff College at Camberley, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. In 1936, he was made a General Staff Officer. In Jan 1937, he was made the Commandant of the Northern Rhodesia Regiment and was appointed to the Northern Rhodesia Legislative Council. In Nov 1938, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

ww2dbaseAt the start of WW2, Dimoline was serving in the Middle East. In 1941, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. During the British invasion of Italian East Africa of 1940 to 1941, he was the commanding officer of 26th East African Brigade. In Dec 1941, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In 1942, he was briefly the acting commanding officer of 12th African Division. Later in the same year, he was given command of 26th East African Brigade and then 22nd East African Brigade. With the latter unit, he participated in the invasion of French Madagascar, leading an amphibious landing at Majunga on 10 Sep 1942 and a successful surprise attack on French units at Andriamanalina on 18 Oct 1942; for his successes at Madagascar, he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1943, he was made the Commandant of Diego Fortress in Madagascar. Later in 1943, he briefly served in Ceylon at the helm of 21st East African Brigade. In 1944, he returned briefly to the African continent as the commanding officer of 30th East African Brigade, as later in the year he would be back in Ceylon with 28th Independent East African Brigade. With that brigade, he saw action in Burma. He was promoted to the war time rank of major general in 1945 to command 11th (East Africa) Division. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his service in Asia.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, between 1946 and 1948, Dimoline served as the commanding officer of East Africa Command. In 1946, he was made a Companion of the Bath in 1947. Between 1948 and 1951, he was the General Officer Commanding Aldershot District in southern England. Between Sep 1951 and Oct 1953, he served on the United Nations' Military Staff Committee with the title of "The Head of the Service Advisers to The United Kingdom Delegation and United Kingdom Representative on, The Military Staff Committee of The United Nations". After his retirement in 1953, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1958. He passed away in Aug 1964.

ww2dbaseWilliam Dimoline's brother, Harry Dimoline, was also an officer in the British Army.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jul 2015

William Dimoline Timeline

6 Jul 1914 William Dimoline was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to 5th Battalion of King's Regiment (Liverpool).
8 Nov 1938 William Dimoline was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
19 Dec 1941 William Dimoline was promoted to the rank of colonel.
6 Sep 1946 William Dimoline was promoted to the rank of major general.
1 Sep 1951 William Dimoline stepped down as the commanding officer of the Aldershot District in southern England, United Kingdom.
29 Sep 1951 William Dimoline became a member of the Military Staff Committee of The United Nations.
17 Sep 1953 William Dimoline retired from service.
13 Oct 1953 William Dimoline stepped down from the Military Staff Committee of The United Nations.




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds




Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed Alan Chanter says:
30 Jul 2015 11:04:47 AM

Royal Corps of Signals (Not Royal Signal Corps)
2. Commenter identity confirmed C. Peter Chen says:
30 Jul 2015 07:03:03 PM

Thanks Alan, I have corrected the Royal Corps of Signals name.

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Search WW2DB
More on William Dimoline
Event(s) Participated:
» Invasion of Italian East Africa
» Madagascar Campaign

Famous WW2 Quote
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."

Winston Churchill


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!