Robert Gordon-Finlayson
| Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson | |
|---|---|
 General Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson | |
| Born | 15 April 1881 |
| Died | 23 May 1956 (aged 75) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1900 - 1941 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held |
3rd Division British Troops in Egypt Western Command |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
General Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson KCB CMG DSO (15 April 1881 – 23 May 1956) was Adjutant-General to the Forces.
Military career
Finlayson entered the British Army from the Suffolk Militia and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as second lieutenant on 17 March 1900.[1] He was promoted to lieutenant on 3 April 1901, and seconded to serve with the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War in South Africa on 25 April 1902,[2] when he was promoted to captain in the 24th battalion, Imperial Yeomanry.[3]
He served during the First World War initially as a Royal Artillery officer with 7th Division from 1914[1] and transferring to 3rd Division in 1915.[1] He was awarded the DSO in 1915. He became Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, 1 Army Corps in 1916[1] and then General Staff Officer to a Special Mission to Russia in 1917.[1]
After the War he was Deputy Commander, North Russia Forces, a post he held from 1918 to 1919.[1] He then became an Instructor at the Senior Officer School in 1919 before being appointed Military Assistant to Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1921.[1] He went on to be a General Staff Officer at the War Office in 1922 and joined the Staff College, Camberley in 1925.[1]
He was appointed Commander Royal Artillery within 3rd Division in 1927[1] and Commander Rawalpindi District in India in 1931.[1] He served with 3rd Division again between 1934 and 1936 - this time as General Officer Commanding.[1] He was promoted to General in 1937 and was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief the British Troops in Egypt in 1938.[1]
He also served in World War II being appointed Adjutant General in 1939[1] in which role he was responsible for organising the Home Guard to defend the Country.[4]
He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command in 1940 from which post retired in 1941.[1]
He was ADC General to the King from 1940 to 1941.[5] He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1936 to 1946 and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Horse Artillery from 1937 to 1947.[5]
He was awarded the CMG in 1918. He was also awarded the CB in 1931 and the KCB in 1937.[5]
Retirement
In retirement he was appointed a Special Commissioner for the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1942 and of the Duke of York's Royal Military School also in 1942.[5]
He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Suffolk.[5] He lived in Hadleigh in Suffolk.[5]
He was churchwarden of St Mary's Church, Kersey and a memorial was erected in his memory in this church.
Family
He was married to Mary and together they went on to have two sons, Air Vice Marshal JR Gordon-Finlayson,[6] Major General Robert Gordon-Finlayson and a daughter, Mary Lelie, who married to become Mary Boyle, Countess of Cork.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27433. p. 3178. 13 May 1902.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27431. p. 3012. 6 May 1902.
- ↑ The home guard: a military and political history By S. P. Mackenzie, Page 28 Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-820577-7
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Who Was Who Volume V 1951-1960 (1961)
- ↑ JR Gordon-Finlayson
- ↑ The Peerage.com
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Walter Pitt-Taylor |
General Officer Commanding the 3rd Division 1934–1936 |
Succeeded by Cecil Heywood |
| Preceded by Sir George Weir |
GOC-in-C the British Troops in Egypt 1938–1939 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry Maitland Wilson |
| Preceded by Sir Clive Liddell |
Adjutant General 1939–1940 |
Succeeded by Sir Colville Wemyss |
| Preceded by Sir Robert Haining |
GOC-in-C Western Command 1940–1941 |
Succeeded by Sir James Marshall-Cornwall |