Born in
County Down in what is now
Northern Ireland, on 24 June 1889, Gartlan was educated at
Downside School and the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from where he was
commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles (later the
Royal Ulster Rifles) in 1909. He was promoted to
lieutenant in November 1910. Gartlan saw service during the
First World War, mainly as a
staff officer on the
Western Front and, after being awarded the
Military Cross, he was later appointed a Companion of the
Distinguished Service Order for his service during the
Upper Silesia plebiscite. He was promoted to
captain in September 1915. After attending
Staff College, Camberley from 1924 to 1925, during which time he has promoted to major, Gartlan became commander of the regimental depot of the
Royal Ulster Rifles in 1929. He went on to be commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1933 to 1936 and attended the
Imperial Defence College in 1937. Towards the end of the
interwar period, he was made the commander of the
5th Infantry Brigade in 1938, which was accompanied by the rank of
brigadier. Gartlan was deployed to France with his brigade, which formed part of the
2nd Infantry Division in the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), at the start of the
Second World War. Following the
Dunkirk evacuation, the 2nd Division was placed on Home Defence duties in
Yorkshire. He briefly served as acting
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Division from 15 August 1940 to 18 September 1940. In late February 1941 he was promoted to the acting rank of major general and assumed command of the
Dorset County Division, which he commanded until December 1941 when it was disbanded. He then served as the district commander for the East Riding of Yorkshire before retiring with the honorary rank of major general in 1944. Gartlan returned to Northern Ireland with his two daughters and, always keen on sports, served as a
deputy lieutenant for his native County Down in 1952. In 1954 he was
High Sheriff of Down and the following year was made a
justice of the peace. ==References==