Archibald Douglas (1883–1960)

Douglas was born on 19 July 1883 at Stjärnorp Castle, Östergötland County as the second of four sons of Count Ludvig Douglas, Marshal of the Realm, and Countess Anna Louise Dorotea (née Ehrensvärd).[2] His younger brother, Count Carl Douglas (1888–1946), was a chamberlain,[3] and his elder brother Robert (1880–1955), a nobleman in Germany, married dowager Queen Augusta Victoria of Portugal, widow of King Manuel II. Archibald Douglas was cousin to general Carl August Ehrensvärd (his successor on the Chief of the Army post[1]), vice admiral Gösta Ehrensvärd and deputy director of the Ministry of Defence Augustin Ehrensvärd.

He was commissioned as an officer in 1903 and was promoted to lieutenant in the Life Regiment Dragoons (K 2) in 1906. Douglas was lieutenant in the General Staff in 1913 and served as general staff officer in the staff of the 1st Army Division (I. arméfördelningen) from 1914 to 1917. He was promoted to captain in 1916 and did the same year a study trip to Galicia region in Central-Eastern Europe.[4] Back in Sweden, Douglas served as a military history teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in Stockholm from 1917 to 1918 and as general staff officer at the Finnish headquarters during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. During his time in Finland in 1918, he became captain and lieutenant colonel in the Finnish Army[4] and took part in the Battle of Länkipohja and Battle of Tampere. Back in Sweden, Douglas became ryttmästare and squadron commander in the Life Regiment Dragoons in 1919 and taught ground warfare at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College on and off between 1919 and 1929.[4]

In 1922, Douglas returned to the General Staff as captain and became major there in 1924. He served as chief of staff of the 5th Army Division (V. arméfördelningen) from 1923 to 1927 when he became major in the Life Regiment Dragoons. Douglas became lieutenant colonel in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1) in 1928. He was promoted to colonel and appointed commanding officer of Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) in 1930 and in 1935 Douglas was appointed executive officer of the Life Regiment of Horse.[4] In 1937 Douglas was promoted to major general and appointed commanding officer of Upper Norrland's Troops (Övre Norrlands trupper) and in 1940 he conducted a study trip to Germany and France. In 1942 he was appointed Inspector of the Swedish Army and the year after he was chairman of the Officer Training Investigation (Officersutbildningsutredningen). In 1944, Douglas was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Chief of the Army. During this time he also served as president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1945 to 1947. Douglas retired from the military in 1948.[4]

Beside his military career, Douglas was a member of the Stockholm City Council from 1921 to 1923 and served as aide-de-camp to King Gustaf V from 1920 to 1930 and as chief aide-de-camp (överadjutant) to King Gustaf V from 1931 to 1950.[5]

In 1907 he married Astri Henschen (1883–1976) in Ronneby. She was the daughter of Professor Salomon Eberhard Henschen and Gerda (née Sandell).[2] Douglas lived in Villa Parkudden in Djurgården,[6] and also owned Stjärnorp Castle in Östergötland County from 1947. The ancestral Stjärnorp Castle, which his father had purchased back to the family some years before Archibald's birth, was designated as Archibald's family seat.

He was the father of the Ambassador Carl Douglas (1908–1961) and company executive Archibald Douglas (1910–1992) and grandfather of financier Gustaf Douglas. Through his eldest son, Carl Ludvig, he is the grandfather of Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, wife of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria. He is also the grandfather of Rosita Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the third wife of John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, they divorced in 2008.

Douglas wrote biographical literature and biographies of Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (his Finnish contemporary),[7] and Swedish Field Marshal Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, his ancestor.[8]

Douglas died in a car accident in Grensholm near Linköping on 5 July 1960.[9] Douglas, who was 76 at the time, was on his way home from a visit to Norrköping.[10]

• 1906 – Lieutenant
• 1916 – Captain
• 1919 – Ryttmästare
• 1924 – Major
• 1928 – Lieutenant colonel
• 1930 – Colonel
• 1937 – Major general
• 1944 – Lieutenant general

• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1936)[19]

• Douglas, Archibald (1925). Operationerna kring Tammerfors 1918 [The operations around Tampere in 1918] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. SELIBR 1471663.
• Douglas, Archibald (1950). Jag blev officer [I became an officer] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. SELIBR 483957.
• Douglas, Archibald, ed. (1951). Prins Gustaf Adolf: en minnesbok [Prince Gustaf Adolf: a memorial book] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. SELIBR 1452035.
• Douglas, Archibald (1951). Mannerheim (in Swedish). [Uppsala]. SELIBR 2992346.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Douglas, Archibald (1957). Robert Douglas: en krigargestalt från vår storhetstid [Robert Douglas: a warrior figure from our heyday] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. SELIBR 8224568.

• "Gen. Archibald Douglas", The Times (9 July 1960): 10.

• Article by Douglas on Mannerheim