Gatehouse joined the
British Army and, after graduating from the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, was
commissioned as a
second lieutenant into the
Northumberland Fusiliers in October 1914 and fought in the
First World War. He was promoted to
lieutenant in May 1915. He was awarded the
Military Cross (MC) in September 1918, the citation for which reads: In November 1918, with only a few days left in the war, Gatehouse was awarded a
Bar to his MC. The Bar's citation stated the following: and Brigadier
Philip "Pip" Roberts (pointing) stand on the turret of a Crusader tank to survey the battle area, 6 September 1942. Major General Alexander Gatehouse is pictured standing in front of them. After the war Gatehouse transferred to the Royal Tank Corps (later the
Royal Tank Regiment) in 1931. His permanent rank was advanced to
colonel on 6 November 1940, with seniority backdated to 1 July, and he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order in December 1941 and a Bar to the award in January 1942. Having led the 10th Armoured Division at the
Battle of Alam el Halfa in September 1942 and then the
Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, he became
major general in charge of administration at
Washington D.C. at the end of the year, and military
attaché in
Moscow in 1944 before retiring in 1947. ==Family==