StreetWavell AvenueSuburbCarlingfordDetailsGeneral Sir Archibald Wavell (1883-1950), British field marshall and Viceroy of India, who commanded the British forces in North Africa in World War II. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all major generals. He was commander in chief in the Middle East when World War II broke out. He drove back the Italian forces in the Western Desert. When Japan declared war he was appointed to coordinate the heterogeneous collection of allied forces in south east Asia against Japan. Wavell was relieved of his African command because of a British defeat, at Halfaya Pass, designed to draw Rommel's forces from Tobruk. By April 1941 Churchill's dual strategic aims of getting a toehold in the Balkans, defeating the Italians had caused GOC Middle East General Wavell's forces to be divided between Cyrenia and Greece. Some believe Wavell was the scapegoat for the defeat.
SourceBahr, Lauren S 1994, Collier's Encyclopaedia , vol. 1 , Collier's, New York, pp.366-7.Map[1]
