Soldier. Born in England, the son of a Scottish doctor, Urquhart was educated at St. Paul's School in London and the Sandhurst military college. He joined the Highland Light Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1920 and, through a series of promotions, found himself as a quartermaster in India at the outbreak of the Second World War. He served in North Africa and Sicily, before returning to the UK, where he was given command of the 1st Airborne Division as a Major General in 1944. He was parachuted into the Netherlands as part of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. For nine days Urquhart's lightly-armed division held-out unsupported against German armour and suffered devastating losses during the Battle of Arnhem. This action was the subject of the film A Bridge Too Far (1977), in which he was portrayed by actor Sean Connery (1930 - 2020), with Urquhart himself served as a military consultant. At the end of World War II he was charged with supervising the German surrender of Norway and returning that country to its legitimate government.
Thereafter, Urquhart became prominent in the Territorial Army. He then took command of the 51st/52nd Scottish Division, went on to lead the Malaya Command during the Malayan Emergency and finally took charge of British Troops in Austria. He retired from the army in 1955 and worked in industry for some years.
Urquhart was a brave and effective officer who made the best of a bad situation at Arnhem. As a result he was appointed CB (Companion of the Bath) and given the Dutch Bronze Lion. For his service in Norway he was appointed to the Order of St. Olaf. He published a book Arnhem in 1958. He died at his home in Port of Menteith and lies buried in the local cemetery. His daughter, Elspeth, married politician Menzies Campbell, becoming Lady Campbell of Pittenweem.
