Robert Bray

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Sir Robert Bray

Sir Robert Napier Hubert Campbell Bray , GBE , KCB , DSO * (born June 14, 1908 , † August 14, 1983 in Warminster , Wiltshire ) was a British general in the British Army who, among other things, was Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command of the Land Forces between 1961 and 1963 (Southern Command) , 1963-1967 Supreme Commander of the Allied forces Northern Europe AFNORTH ( Allied forces Northern Europe ) and most recently deputy 1967-1970 Supreme Commander of the Allied NATO -Streitkräfte in Europe ( Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe ) was.

Life

Military training and World War II

Bray completed his education at St Ronan's School and at the traditional, elite Gresham's School, founded in 1555, and then began his officer training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst . Upon completion of training, he entered on February 2, 1928 as a lieutenant (Second Lieutenant) in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) and found there in the aftermath various uses as an officer.

During World War II he served between 22 April 1940 and 18 July 1942 first staff officer for military intelligence and then from July 19 1942 to October 21, 1944 Staff Officer for Personnel and Training of the 6th Airborne Division ( 6th Airborne Division ) which, among other things during the landing in Normandy on the operation Tonga participated on 5 June 1944th For this mission he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He was then between October 22, 1944 and June 7, 1945 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the 2nd Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment and was promoted to major on February 2, 1945 in this use . At the same time he acted from January 20 to 23 and again from January 27 to February 6, 1945 as acting commander of the 56th Infantry Brigade deployed in northwestern Europe . He was also in 1945 commander of the 185th Infantry Brigade between 7 February and 20 April (185th Infantry Brigade) was to him on 1 May 1945, a clasp to the (bar) awarded for the Distinguished Service Order (DSO *).

Post-war period and promotion to general

After the end of World War II, Bray was acting commander of a division from November 11, 1945 to December 5, 1946 and then between December 6, 1946 and June 30, 1947, commander of a brigade. After further use, he was from 1950 to 1952 officer on the staff of the Army of the Rhine (British Army of the Rhine) in Germany and received there on 31 December 1950 was promoted to Colonel (Colonel) . In June 1952 he became Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). After the Korean War he became commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade in November 1953 and remained in this post until October 1954.

On his return to Britain Bray moved to the Ministry of War ( War Office ) and was head of the department in 1957, both land and air warfare and for there on 15 December 1954 to 1 March NATO -Standardisierungsangelegenheiten. In this use, he was on 16 June 1955, first to Brigadier (Brigadier) and later on 29 October 1955 and to Major General (Major-General) promoted. On December 28, 1956, he was also Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He then took over on April 30, 1957, the successor of Major General David Dawnay as commander ( General Officer Commanding ) of the 56th London Infantry Division (56th (London) Infantry Division) and held this position until his replacement by Major General Cecil Deakin March 31 1959. He then acted between May 1, 1959 and 1960, initially as commander of the land forces on the Arabian Peninsula and from 1960 to May 28, 1961 as commander of the land forces in the Middle East .

On 28 January 1961 Bray successor Lieutenant General Nigel Poett as commander in chief of the Southern Command of the Land Forces (Southern Command) and received in this use on August 1, 1961 his own promotion to lieutenant general (Lieutenant General) , which on February 27, 1961 has been backdated. On January 1, 1962, he was beaten Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), so that from then on he carried the suffix "Sir". His successor as General Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Command was Lieutenant General Kenneth Darling on November 1, 1963 . He himself took over from General Harold Pyman on November 18, 1963, the post of Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Northern Europe AFNORTH ( Allied Forces Northern Europe ) and was promoted to general on February 25, 1965 himself . In addition to his use as Commander in Chief of AFNORTH (CINCNORTH) , he was between September 21, 1965 and September 21, 1968 Aide-de-camp of Queen Elizabeth II and from October 1, 1965 to July 7, 1975 Colonel of Honor of The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) . On January 1, 1966, he was elevated to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). His successor as CINCNORTH was on February 9, 1967 again Lieutenant General Kenneth Darling.

Bray himself was finally on 1 March 1967 as the successor of Marshal of the Air Force Thomas Pike Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied NATO -Streitkräfte in Europe ( Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe ) . He held this position until December 1, 1970 and was then replaced by General Desmond Fitzpatrick . He finally retired on March 9, 1971.

Web links

Commons : Robert Bray  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36679, HMSO, London, August 31, 1944, p. 4044 ( PDF , accessed January 15, 2017, English).
  2. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 37061, HMSO, London, May 1, 1945, p. 1 ( PDF , accessed January 15, 1945, English).
  3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 39555, HMSO, London, June 5, 1952, p. 3013 ( PDF , accessed January 15, 2015, English).
  4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 40960, HMSO, London, December 28, 1956, p. 6 ( PDF , accessed January 15, 2017, English).
  5. ↑ London Gazette . No. 42552, HMSO, London, January 1, 1962, p. 2 ( PDF , accessed January 17, 2017, English).
  6. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 43854, HMSO, London, January 1, 1966, p. 3 ( PDF , accessed January 15, 2017, English).
personal data
SURNAME Bray, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bray, Sir Robert Napier Hubert Campbell (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British general
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1908
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1983
Place of death Warminster , Wiltshire