General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Rob McGregor MacDonald Lockhart (23 June 1893 – 11 September 1981) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and later a leading member of the

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

. He served as the first Commander-in-Chief of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

upon India's independence.

Family

Lockhart was born in Ayrshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. His mother was Florence Stuart Macgregor, while other ancestors included Bruces, Hamiltons, Cummings, Wallaces and Douglases. His brother, the writer

R. H. Bruce Lockhart Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart, KCMG (2 September 1887 – 27 February 1970) was a British diplomat, journalist, author, secret agent and footballer. His 1932 book ''Memoirs of a British Agent''Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, ''Memoirs of a Br ...

, claimed that "There is no drop of English blood in my veins." Another brother, J. H. Bruce Lockhart, was headmaster of

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

, while his nephews

Rab Bruce Lockhart Rab Brougham Bruce Lockhart (1 December 1916 – 1 May 1990) was a Scottish soldier and schoolmaster, notable for his sporting career as a Scotland international at rugby union Logie Bruce Lockhart Logie Bruce Lockhart (12 October 1921 – 7 September 2020) was a Scottish schoolmaster, writer, and journalist, in his youth a Scottish international rugby union footballer and for most of his teaching career headmaster of Gresham's School. Ba ...

went on to become headmasters of Loretto and Gresham's. Another nephew,

J. M. Bruce Lockhart John Macgregor Bruce Lockhart OBE CMG CB (9 May 1914 – 7 May 1995) was a British schoolmaster, soldier, diplomat, intelligence officer, and university administrator. Life Born at Rugby, Lockhart was one of the four sons of John Bruce Lockhart ...

, was an intelligence officer. He married Margaret Amy Campbell on 2 September 1918 in Mussorie, India. They had one daughter, Mary Mavora Lockhart, who was born in 1919 and a son, Norman Neil Campbell Lockhart, who was born in 1925. Norman Lockhart went on to serve in the Seaforth Highlanders in World War Two and the Malayan Emergency. The same regiment as the uncle he was named after and Rob Lockhart's favourite brother, Norman Douglas Steward Bruce Lockhart, who was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915.

Military career

Lockhart was born 23 June 1893 and educated at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, and was commissioned onto the Unattached List for the

as a second lieutenant on 22 January 1913. He joined the

51st Sikhs The 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1846 as the 1st Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade. It was designated as the 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force) in 1903 and became 1st Battali ...

on 8 March 1914 and in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

served in Egypt, Aden, and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant on 22 April 1915, to acting captain on 13 April 1916, again on 7 October 1916, and to captain on 22 January 1917. On 1 January 1918 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. Attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1926 to 1927, he was promoted to major 22 January 1931,Half Yearly Army List January 1946 p.50 Lockhart was brevetted as a lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1933 and appointed as

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

to the

Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of A ...

from 10 March 1934 to 1 December 1935.Sir Robert Lockhart at Generals.dk
/ref> He was Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 8 November 1936, and was given command of the 1st battalion, the 12th Frontier Force Regiment. He was promoted to colonel on 1 February 1939 (with seniority from 1 January 1936), and appointed Deputy Director of Staff Duties in the India Office. from 1 February 1939 to 19 December 1939. Promoted to temporary brigadier on 20 December 1939, Lockhart served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as Director of Staff Duties in the India Office from 20 December 1939 to 14 December 1941, when he became

Military Secretary to the India Office The Military Secretary to the India Office was responsible for the recruitment of British and other European nationals to the officer ranks of the Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian A ...

, a position he filled until 9 July 1943. He was promoted to acting major-general on 28 April 1941, to temporary major-general on 28 April 1942, and to the permanent rank of major-general on 24 October 1942. Promoted to acting lieutenant-general on 15 April 1945, he was appointed General Officer Commanding Southern Command in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that year, and was promoted to lieutenant-general on 23 November (with seniority from 3 April 1944). On 19 June 1947, with the independence of India and Pakistan imminent, he was appointed as acting Governor of the

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

. On 15 August 1947, the day

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

was partitioned into two independent

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

s, Lockhart was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army, with the acting rank of general. He was promoted to general on 1 September (with seniority from 1 July 1945). He retired on 1 October 1948, but was recalled to the British forces as Director of Operations during the Malaya Emergency between 1951 and 1952. Retiring in 1951, he served as deputy chief scout for the

Boy Scouts Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was for ...

from 1951 to 1961. He also served on the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

from 1953 to 1959, and in 1961 was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

Award, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. Lockhart died on 11 September 1981, leaving property valued at £4504. His address at death was Gainsborough Nursing Home, 4 Nevil Park,

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

, Kent."Bruce-Lockhart sir Robert Hamilton" in Probate Index for 1970, online at probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar, Retrieved 12 April 2019

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Rob Mcgregor Macdonald 1893 births 1981 deaths British military attachés Military personnel from North Ayrshire Robert McGregor MacDonald Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Indian Army generals of World War II Chiefs of Army Staff (India) Administrators in British India Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award World Scout Committee members Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Indian Army generals Indian Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People from Beith