Walter Venning

General Sir Walter King Venning (17 January 1882 – 19 June 1964) was a British Army officer and administrator who served in both World Wars. Known for his excellency as an administrator, he served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1939 to 1942 and Director General of the British Supply Mission in Washington, D.C. from 1942 to 1945. Military career Venning was educated at Allhallows and Clifton College, followed by the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Venning was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1901. He saw service with West African Frontier Force from 1907 to 1910. He saw active service in the First World War, earning the Military Cross in the King's 1915 Birthday Honours. He was promoted to deputy assistant adjutant general at the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force, and then to Assistant Adjutant General at the War Office. After the war, Venning became an instructor at the Staff College and then in 1922 was promoted to assistant adjutant general at the War Office. He was appointed assistant adjutant and quartermaster general at Aldershot Command in 1927 and deputy adjutant and quartermaster general at Eastern Command in India in 1929. In 1931 he became commanding officer of the 2nd (Rawalpindi) Infantry Brigade in India, and then in 1934 returned to the British Army as director of movements and quartering at the War Office.