Robert Bray (British Army officer)

Sir Robert Bray

General RNHC (Bobbie) Bray GBE KCB DSO
Born 14 June 1908
Died 1983 (aged 74 or 75)
Warminster
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1928 - 1971
Rank General
Commands held 185th Infantry Brigade
29th Infantry Brigade
56th (London) Infantry Division
Southern Command
Allied Forces Northern Europe
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

General Sir Robert Napier Hubert Campbell (Bobbie) Bray, GBE, KCB, DSO and bar (19081983) was a British soldier, deputy Supreme Commander Europe of NATO's Allied Command Europe from 1967 to 1970.

Education

Bray was educated at St Ronan's School, Worthing,[1] followed by Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military Academy.

Career

Rober Bray was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment on 2 February 1928.[2]

He served during World War II in North West Europe and the Middle East[2] being promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on 19 October 1942.

He became a Brigadier on the General Staff at the British Army of the Rhine in 1950 and then Director of Land-Air Warfare and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Standardization at the War Office in 1954.[2] He was promoted to major-general on 29 October 1955 and became General Officer Commanding 56th Infantry Division in 1957.[2] He then became GOC British Land Forces in the Arabian Peninsula in 1959 and GOC Middle East Land Forces in 1960.[2]

He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27 February 1961 and served as GOC-in-C at Southern Command from 1961 to 1963.[2] He was promoted to full general on 25 February 1965. He was the Honorary Colonel of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment from 1965 to 1975. He served as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe between 1963 and 1967 and as Deputy Supreme Commander Europe at NATO's Allied Command between May 1967 and December 1970,[2] succeeding Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike. He retired on 9 March 1971.[2]

Honours

References

  1. St Ronan's School
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36679. p. 4044. 31 August 1944. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  4. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37061. p. 1. 1 May 1945. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39555. p. 3013. 5 June 1952. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40960. p. 6. 28 December 1956. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 42552. p. 2. 1 January 1962. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43854. p. 3. 1 January 1966. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Nigel Poett
GOC-in-C Southern Command
19611963
Succeeded by
Sir Kenneth Darling
Preceded by
Sir Harold Pyman
Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe
19631967
Succeeded by
Sir Kenneth Darling
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Pike
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
19671970
Succeeded by
Desmond Fitzpatrick