Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Robert John Collins CMG DSO (22 August 1880 – 6 March 1950) was a

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 who became

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

Military career

Educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, Collins, after service with the 6th Warwick

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, was commissioned into the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

in 1899.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He fought in the

and then served with the Egyptian Army until 1911 and attended the

from 1913 to 1914, where

J. F. C. Fuller Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising p ...

was one of his fellow students. He took part 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 ...

, becoming Chief Instructor at the Staff School in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

during the last year of the war. He was appointed Commander of 73rd Brigade later in 1918 and became an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1919 before taking up a post as Director of Military Training 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 ...

in 1924. He went on to be Commandant of the Small Arms School in 1929 and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd (Meerut) Indian Division in 1934 before retiring in 1938. He was recalled at the start of 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 opposin ...

to be (GOC) of the 61st Infantry Division followed by being made

of the Staff College, Camberley before retiring again in 1941. He was one of the founders, with

Phoebe Cusden Phoebe Cusden (1887–1981) was a socialism, socialist, trade unionist, educator, peace campaigner and politician from the English town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. She was continuously active between the 1910s and the 1970s, and was a leading ...

, of the ''Reading Düsseldorf Association'' which provided help from the people of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

for the people of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which had been heavily bombed during the War. He was also author of ''Lord Wavell, 1883-1941 - A military biography'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1947).

Family

In 1912 he married Violet Agnes Monro.''Armorial families : a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour'' by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, p.107
/ref>

References

Bibliography

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Robert 1880 births 1950 deaths British Army generals of World War I British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley People educated at Marlborough College Royal Berkshire Regiment officers British Army major generals Academics of the Staff College, Camberley