1. Thomas Ralph Eastwood was born on 10 May 1890 at Canterbury in the county of Kent in England.
14 Facts About Ralph Eastwood
1. 2.
Ralph Eastwood was the second son of Captain Hugh de Crespigny Eastwood of the King's Dragoon Guards who went on to distinguish himself in the Second Boer War, earned the Distinguished Service Order in 1902 and finished his military career as Inspector of Cyclist Units in 1918.
3.
Ralph Eastwood was educated at Eton College from 1904 to 1908.
4.
Ralph Eastwood was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Rifle Brigade in October 1910.
5.
Ralph Eastwood was promoted to lieutenant in November 1911 and, a year later, in November 1912, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the governor of New Zealand, Lord Liverpool.
6.
Ralph Eastwood was released from this role on the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914, when he was commissioned into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, later serving as a captain in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.
7.
Ralph Eastwood guided the night advance of his brigade with skill and resource, especially when the head of the column came under the enemy's fire.
8.
Ralph Eastwood transferred back to the British Army on 17 October 1918, and in 1919 he served in the ill-fated North Russia Intervention, as brigade major on General Lord Rawlinson's staff.
9.
In December 1939, following the outbreak of the Second World War, Ralph Eastwood was appointed General Officer Commanding of the 59th Infantry Division, a command he held until 31 May 1940.
10.
Ralph Eastwood was briefly given command of the 18th Infantry Division, before taking on the role of Chief of Staff in the short-lived Second British Expeditionary Force.
11.
In June 1941, Ralph Eastwood was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command.
12.
Ralph Eastwood went on to be Governor of Gibraltar in 1944 and retired from the British Army in 1947.
13.
Ralph Eastwood married Mabel Vivian Prideaux on 21 April 1921; they had one son, Thomas Hugh Eastwood, who was a composer.
14.
Ralph Eastwood died at the age of 68 on 15 February 1959 at Rodmarton in Gloucestershire.