James Oliver Ewart

Colonel James Oliver Ewart (3 April 1917 – 1 July 1945) was a British Army Intelligence officer who because of his language skills would be posted to a number of staff officer posts in Allied headquarters in Western Europe. He spent most of his active service career in the Mediterranean and European theatres of operation during the Second World War, where he frequently worked with Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery.[1]

James Oliver Ewart
Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery speaking with a delegation of senior German officers at his Tac HQ on 4 May 1945. Colonel "Joe" Ewart is translating for his commander.
Nickname(s)"Joe"
Born3 April 1917
Taynuilt, Scotland
Died1 July 1945 (aged 28)
Melle, Germany
Buried
Munster Heath War Cemetery, Kreis Warendorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1940–1945
RankColonel
Service number113332
UnitRoyal Scots
Intelligence Corps
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire

Biography
Winston Churchill with Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke during the Prime Minister's tour of troops taking part in the Rhine crossing, 25 March 1945. Between Brooke and Montgomery is Colonel James Oliver Ewart and an unknown Royal Navy officer.

Ewart's father and an uncle[2] had both seen service in the First World War, his father (also James Oliver) having served in France and Belgium with the Royal Engineers where he was both Mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Military Cross (MC).[3][4]

Ewart's family were Scottish and he spent many of his pre-war years living in Edinburgh. He was the only child of James Oliver and Flora Livingstone Ewart.[5] He was educated in Edinburgh and attended George Watson's College and is recorded as being a very able student and sportsman.[6] Having left school Ewart then went on to attend the University of Edinburgh and graduated with 1st Class Honours in Classics.[7] However, it was his language skills that would prove vital in his war service after university; he could speak French, German, Dutch, Modern Greek, Spanish and Italian.

Service career

Ewart was initially commissioned into the 7th/9th (Highlanders) Battalion Royal Scots (a mobilised Territorial infantry unit)[8] on 13 January 1940; his service number was 113332.[9][1] However, prior to his battalion's embarkation for France in June 1940 he was transferred to the War Office's Directorate of Military Intelligence.[10] He would later transfer to the Intelligence Corps on 19 July 1940.[1] He would finish his service as the second most senior intelligence staff officer in Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group during the liberation of Europe; and he would be one of the key staff at the surrender of German forces to Montgomery on 4 May 1945 on Lüneburg Heath.[11][12][13] He was even captured on film standing next to his commander, as "Monty" reads out the terms of German surrender to an Allied film crew.[14]

Field Marshal Montgomery (seated second from the right) reads the terms of the surrender of German forces in the North of the country, watched by Colonel Joe Ewart standing immediately behind him to the left (wearing a beret).

His qualities as a staff officer during sensitive negotiations were recognised by his commander and he was awarded the CBE on 21 June 1945,[15] having earlier been awarded the OBE for his service in Sicily.[16][17]

Death and legacy

Ewart died on duty of injuries he received in a road traffic accident on 1 July 1945, near the town of Melle, Germany. He was buried at the Munster Heath War Cemetery, Kreis Warendorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.[18] He was survived by his wife (Margaret Armstrong Ewart) and his parents.[19][20]

James Ewart Avenue, built on the former Joint Services School of Intelligence site in Ashford, Kent, is named after him.

References
  1. "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. "Casualty Record W G Ewart". cwgc.org. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "The London Gazette 1919". Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  4. British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914–1920 J Oliver Ewart RE
  5. Edinburgh, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1832–1966
  6. George Watsons College, Edinburgh. "Watson's War Records". George Watson's College. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  7. "UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH TRANSCRIPTS See UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH ROLL OF HONOUR 1939–1945". docplayer.net. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  8. "The Royal Scots Territorial Battalions in WW2". Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  9. "The London Gazette 1940" (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  10. "Royal Scots War Diary Transcripts" (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  11. Moorehead, Alan (1945). Eclipse. New York: HARPER & ROW,PUBLISHERS. pp. 282-288. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  12. "Military Histories – The Surrender on the Lüneburger Heide". militaryhistories.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  13. "Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe". Yale University Press London Blog. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  14. "Photo and Film Clips – The Lüneburg Heath Surrender (Additional Images)". militaryhistories.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  15. "The London Gazette 1945" (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  16. "The London Gazette 1944" (PDF). Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  17. National, Archives (1944). "Recommendation for Award for Ewart, James Oliver". Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  18. "Munster Heath Cemetery". cwgc.org. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  19. Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, England 1790–1976, Ancestry.com, 2010
  20. CWGC. "Casualty Record". cwgc.org. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
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