Bill Adam

The son of a Scottish-born industrialist, who had bases in Lancashire and India, Bill Adam was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). He was educated at Eton, before going to the Royal Military Academy, from where he obtained his commission into the Royal Artillery in 1905. When World War I broke out, Adam was posted to India, and also served on the Western Front and in Italy. Having been awarded the OBE, in 1918 he was honoured with the Distinguished Service Order, and was mentioned in dispatches three times. After the War, he worked for the War Office, and then replaced his father as an Army instructor at Camberley. In 1940, he saw service with the British Expeditionary Force in Western Europe. Between 1941-46, Adam was adjutant-general to the British Forces, and between 1946-54 was director-general of the British Council. When he left the Army, he was a General, and Most Honourable Order of the Bath (GCB). Adam’s father-in-law was Frederick Islay Pitman, a three-time Cambridge rowing Blue.