Robert Arkwright

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Robert Arkwright
Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany.jpg
Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany, 1950. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Stephens, CO 1st Battalion, The Rifle Brigade explains the exercise to a group of officers including Generale d'armie Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Major General Robert Arkwright, GOC 7th Armoured Division and Lieutenant General Sir Charles Keightley, C-in-C British Army of the Rhine.
Born30 July 1903
Bickley, Kent, England
Died14 November 1971 (aged 68)
Swindon, Wiltshire
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1924–1951
RankMajor-General
Service number28043
Unit12th Royal Lancers
Commands held23rd Armoured Brigade
2nd Infantry Division
56th (London) Armoured Division
7th Armoured Division
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order & Bar

Major-General Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright CB, DSO & Bar (30 July 1903 – 14 November 1971) was a British Army officer who served in the Second World War and later commanded the 2nd Infantry Division.[1]

Arkwright was born in Bickley, Kent, England, the son of Bertram Harry Godfrey Arkwright (1879–1949) and his wife Grace Emma Julia Hurt. Francis Arkwright was his younger brother.[2]

Military career[]

Arkwright was commissioned into the 12th Royal Lancers in 1924.[3] He served in the Second World War as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for 1st Armoured Division in France, as a General Staff Officer with 8th Armoured Division and as Brigadier responsible for Armoured Fighting Vehicles in the British Eighth Army before being made Commander of 23rd Armoured Brigade in 1943.[3] As Commander of the 23rd Armoured Brigade he took part in the Sicily landings, the Italy landings, both part of the Italian Campaign, and later the Civil War in Greece.[4] After the war he became General Officer Commanding 2nd Infantry Division in 1946, Director of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1947 and General Officer Commanding 56th (London) Armoured Division in 1948.[3] His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding 7th Armoured Division from 1949 until his retirement in 1951.[3]

He lived at Pen y Bryn Hall in Montgomery.[5]

Family[]

In 1927 he married Kathleen Gladys Hanbury.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "Obituary: Maj-Gen R. H. B. Arkwright". The Times. 15 November 1971. p. 14.
  2. ^ Howard, Joseph Jackson (1908). Visitation of England and Wales. Priv. print. p. 79. Retrieved 12 February 2020. Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright.
  3. ^ a b c d "Arkwright, Robert". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ^ Major-General Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright
  5. ^ A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Volume 14, By Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans, p.60
  6. ^ Kemble Family

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by GOC 2nd Division
1946–1947 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC 56th (London) Armoured Division
1948–1949 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Vacant
(next held by Philip Roberts)
 GOC 7th Armoured Division
1949–1951 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""