Major-General Edward Henry Willis, (5 September 1870 – 26 June 1961) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.
Background Willis was the second son of Henry Scott Willis, a wool merchant of Northfield, Trowbridge, Wiltshire.Marlborough College Register from 1843 to 1904 inclusive, fifth edition, 1905, pg 370, pg 451 His elder brother took over the family wool business, having served as a supernumerary captain (honorary major) with The Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment, and his younger brother was a provincial commissioner in Northern Rhodesia.Northern Rhodesia Blue Book for the year ended 31 December 1929, pg A-89
Military career Willis was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) as a second-lieutenant on 14 February 1890, promoted to lieutenant on 14 February 1893, and to captain on 19 January 1900. He was attached to the 60th battery RFA which was stationed in British India until November 1902, when he was in command as they returned home. They were subsequently stationed at Ballinrobe, County Mayo.Hart′s Army list, 1903
After serving in World War I, during which he was promoted to temporary brigadier general in January 1916, he was appointed major general, Royal Artillery in 1921 and Director of the Royal Artillery in 1927. He became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey in 1929 and retired in 1934.
Later life Having been appointed CB, CMG and received the Order of St Stanislaus, 2nd Class (with swords)Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 Feb. 1917, pg 1600 in the course of his career, Willis died at his house, Westlands, at Saint Brélade, Jersey on 26 June 1961. In 1904 he married Sarah Augusta Barlow, daughter of Micah Barlow. Their son, Major John Henry Willis, M.C., of the 12th Lancers, was the second husband of the actress Hermione Baddeley, from 1940 until their 1946 divorce.The Unsinkable Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Baddeley, Collins, 1984, pg 114Stage and Screen Lives, Michael Billington, 2001, pg 23 In 1925, he married Ellis Mary, daughter of Alexander William Duke.
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