Roy Redgrave (Major General)

Sir Roy Michael Frederick Redgrave KBE MC (born September 16, 1925 in Bucharest , † July 3, 2011 ) was a British major general and author . From 1975 to 1978 he was the 16th Commander of the British Sector of Berlin and thus one of the Allied City Commanders .

Life

Redgrave was born on September 16, 1925 in the Athénée Palace Hotel in Bucharest to Micheline Capsa, one of the two daughters of General Mihail Capsa , and the British Robin Roy Redgrave. His father was a son of actor Roy Redgrave , who started the Redgrave family of actors .

Redgrave grew up in Doftan , north of Bucharest. His father worked here for Romanian oil companies. When the Second World War broke out , Redgrave stayed in England , where he attended the Sherborne School . At the age of 17, Redgrave signed up for the cavalry regiment The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) . He was stationed in Aldershot with troops of the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment . With these he came to the Netherlands in 1945 and later took part in the Rhine crossing. He was awarded the Military Cross for his work in Düdenbüttel .

After the Second World War he remained stationed in Germany and served as General Staff Officer (Grade 3) . In 1959 he commanded a squadron in Cyprus that was used against EOKA fighters. From 1960 to 1962 he served as the military assistant to the Deputy Supreme Commander Europe , General Hugh Stockwell . Redgrave then commanded the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London .

From 1965 to 1967 he commanded the troops of the Blues, which were subordinate to the British Army of the Rhine . He was then transferred to the headquarters of the 2nd Armored Division . This was followed by a promotion to Brigadier , as well as his appointment to Commander Royal Armored Corps (RAC) , a post he held from 1970 to 1972. His headquarters were in Tidworth . In 1973 he became commander of Bovington Camp and Lulworth Camp in the County of Dorset . Two years later he was transferred to Berlin, where he succeeded David Scott-Barrett as the British city commander until 1978. After he was replaced by Robert Richardson , he was Commander of the British Armed Forces in Hong Kong .

In 1980 he retired and was knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on the occasion . Redgrave now became Director General of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and Honorary Colonel of the 31st Signal Regiment Volunteers . In 2000 he published the autobiographical book Balkan Blue: Family and Military Memories . The autobiographical book The Adventures of Colonel Daffodil followed in 2006 .

Redgrave had been married to Valerie Wellesley since 1953. The marriage resulted in two sons.

Publications

• 2000: Balkan Blue: Family and Military Memories
• 2006: The Adventures of Colonel Daffodil

Web links

• Army Obituaries: Maj-Gen Sir Roy Redgrave , July 31, 2011, The Daily Telegraph
• An officer and a gentleman - on the 90th birthday: memories of city commander Roy Redgrave , Guard Report - Association newspaper of the comradeship 248 German Security Unit e. V. (September 2015, 5th year)
• The commanders of the British Sector of Berlin on the GSU History website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Roy Redgrave: A Balkan Blue: Family and Military Memories (2000)