Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Colville
2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

There can be no doubt that the rapidity with which he assumed control in what might have been a most dangerous situation not only saved the lives of many men in his own Brigade but also ensured the success of the whole situation at a critical period in the battle.

(D.S.O. citation, 19 Oct 1944)

Born on 1 September 1905 in London, Edward Charles Colville was the son of Admiral Sir Stanley Colville (1861–1939). He was commissioned into the Gordon Highlanders in 1925 and was promoted to captain and adjutant in 1938. From 1932 to 1934 he posted to Ottawa where he served as aide-de-camp to Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, governor general of Canada.

In August 1943, Colville became commanding officer of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders. Ten months later, the unit deployed to France along with the 15th Scottish Division in late June 1944. When Brigadier J.R. Mackintosh-Walker was killed on 15 July, Colville took over the 227th Infantry Brigade, for which he received the D.S.O.: “With utmost coolness he assumed immediate control, reorganised the remaining personnel of his staff and moved Tactical HQ on the Divisional Commanders orders to a less exposed site where he handled the movements of the Brigade as if there had been no interruption in control during the night.” Command of the 2nd Gordons passed to Major J.R. Sinclair.

Colville commanded the 227th Brigade until the end of the war in Europe. He received the D.S.O. Bar for his leadership at Nijmegen in February 1945, where he “instilled such confidence and energy into his forward troops that they, without hesitation, advanced immediately behind the barrage over ground which had not been cleared of mines, and thus ensured the success of his Brigade’s attack.”

In his postwar army career, Colville returned to Canada a defence advisor to the British High Commissioner in 1946. Following a posting to the British Army of the Rhine, he next served as chief of staff for the Far East Land Forces during the Malaya Emergence in 1954-55. He then commanded 51stt Highland Division until 1959, after which he retired from the army as a major-general. Colville died on 10 January 1982 in Stoughton, West Sussex.