General Sir Robert Napier Hubert Campbell (Bobbie) Bray GBE KCB DSO* (14 June 1908 – 14 August 1983) was a British soldier, deputy Supreme Commander Europe of NATO's Allied Command Europe from 1967 to 1970.
Sir Robert Bray | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Bobbie" |
| Born | 14 June 1908 Dacca, Bengal Presidency[a] |
| Died | 14 August 1983 (aged 75) Warminster, London, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1928–1971 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 39414 |
| Unit | Duke of Wellington's Regiment |
| Commands | 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment 185th Infantry Brigade 29th Infantry Brigade 56th (London) Armoured 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 |
Education
editBray was educated at St Ronan's School, Worthing,[1] followed by Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[2]
Career
editBray was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment on 2 February 1928.[3]
He served in North West Europe and the Middle East during the Second World War[3] being promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on 19 October 1942.[4]
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 Organization Standardization at the War Office in December 1954.[3] Promoted to major-general on 29 October 1955, he became General Officer Commanding 56th (London) Armoured Division in April 1957.[3] He then became GOC British Land Forces in the Arabian Peninsula in 1959 and GOC Middle East Land Forces in 1960.[3]
He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27 February 1961 and served as GOC-in-C at Southern Command from August 1961 to September 1963.[3] He was promoted to full general on 25 February 1965. He was the colonel-in-chief of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment from 1965 to 1975.[5] He served as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe between November 1963 and February 1967 and as Deputy Supreme Commander Europe at NATO's Allied Command between May 1967 and December 1970,[3] succeeding Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike. He retired on 9 March 1971.[3]
Honours
edit- 1944 – Distinguished Service Order for gallant and distinguished services in Normandy[6]
- 1945 – Bar to Distinguished Service Order for gallant and distinguished services in north west Europe[7]
- 1952 – Commander of the Order of the British Empire[8]
- 1956 – Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)[9]
- 1962 – Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)[10]
- 1966 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)[11]
- Colonel of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, October 1965 to July 1975
- Mentioned in Despatches North West Frontier 1935
- Mentioned in Despatches 20 December 1940
Notes
edit- ^ now Dhaka, Bangladesh
References
edit- ^ St Ronan's School Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Military Roll of Honour". Gresham's School. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ "Bray, Robert". Unit Histories. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Colonels of the Regiment 1702-2006".
- ^ "No. 36679". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 August 1944. p. 4044.
- ^ "No. 37061". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 May 1945. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 39555". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1952. p. 3013.
- ^ "No. 40960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1956. p. 6.
- ^ "No. 42552". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1962. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 43854". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1966. p. 3.
Bibliography
edit- I Will Plant Me a Tree by Steve Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) ISBN 0-907383-92-0