Robert Bray (British Army officer)

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"
Born14 June 1908
Dacca, Bengal Presidency[lower-alpha 1]
Died14 August 1983 (aged 75)
Warminster, London, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1928–1971
RankGeneral
Service number39414
UnitDuke of Wellington's Regiment
Commands held2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
185th Infantry Brigade
29th Infantry Brigade
56th (London) Armoured Division
Southern Command
Allied Forces Northern Europe
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

Education

Bray was educated at St Ronan's School, Worthing,[1] followed by Gresham's School, Holt, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[2]

Career

Bray 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 Organisation 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 Honorary Colonel of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment from 1965 to 1975. 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

Notes
  1. now Dhaka, Bangladesh

References
  1. St Ronan's School Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Military Roll of Honour". Gresham's School. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  4. "Bray, Robert". Unit Histories. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  5. "No. 36679". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 August 1944. p. 4044.
  6. "No. 37061". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 May 1945. p. 1.
  7. "No. 39555". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1952. p. 3013.
  8. "No. 40960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1956. p. 6.
  9. "No. 42552". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1962. p. 2.
  10. "No. 43854". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1966. p. 3.

Bibliography
  • I Will Plant Me a Tree by Steve Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) ISBN 0-907383-92-0
Military offices
Preceded by
David Dawnay		 GOC 56th (London) Armoured Division
1954–1959		 Succeeded by
Peter Deakin
Preceded by
Sir Nigel Poett		 GOC-in-C Southern Command
1961–1963		 Succeeded by
Sir Kenneth Darling
Preceded by
Sir Harold Pyman		 Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe
1963–1967		 Succeeded by
Sir Kenneth Darling
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Pike		 Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
1967–1970		 Succeeded by
Desmond Fitzpatrick
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