Major General Sir William Robert Norris "Looney" Hinde, (25 June 1900 – 13 July 1981) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and in the

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...

in colonial Kenya.

Biography

Hinde was born in Cupar,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, and was educated at Wellington College, before training as a " Gentlemen Cadet" at the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Mala ...

, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

15th Hussars The 15th The King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. First raised in 1759, it saw service over two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 19th Royal Hussars into the 15th/19th The King's Roya ...

on 16 July 1919, and promoted to lieutenant in the combined

15th/19th Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was a ...

on 16 July 1921. Hinde was a keen polo player and was selected as a member of the British polo team to compete in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, winning a silver medal. He played both matches in the tournament, the first against Mexico and the final against Argentina. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and then on 10 January 1938 to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. From 1940 to 1942 he served as commander of the

, receiving promotion to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 10 January 1941. From 26 August 1942 until 7 December 1942 he commanded the

20th Armoured Brigade The 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, previously the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade, is an armoured infantry brigade formation of the British Army, currently headquartered at Wing Barracks, Bulford, Wiltshire, as part of the 3rd (United Kingdo ...

, with the temporary rank of brigadier, and then from 23 January 1943 to 7 August 1944 was commander of the

22nd Armoured Brigade The 22nd Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during and after the Second World War. The brigade was formed on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 from Territorial Army (TA) armoured regiments. ...

, seeing active service in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe; particularly in Normandy and in the Battle of Villers-Bocage. On 27 May 1944 he was promoted to the

substantive rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

of colonel, with seniority from 10 January. From 1945 to 1948 he was Deputy Military Governor of the British Sector of Berlin. He was promoted to brigadier on 12 October 1948, and from October 1948 to July 1949 was Deputy Commander of the North-West District. He returned to Germany to serve as Deputy Commanding Officer, Lower Saxony, from 1949 to 1951. Hinde was appointed an Aide-de-Camp to the King on 24 November 1950. From 1952 to 1953 he served as District Officer Commanding Cyrenaica District, North Africa. In January 1953, Hinde was appointed Director of Operations, Kenya, with the temporary rank of major-general, to lead an offensive against the

Mau Mau Mau Mau may refer to: * The Kenya Land and Freedom Army, a Kenyan anti-colonial force ** The Mau Mau rebellion, uprising in Kenya in the 1950s * Mau Mau Island or White Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City * Mau Mau (game), a card game ...

rebels. He relinquished his appointment on 31 March 1956, and his temporary rank on 18 June 1956. On 1 January 1957 Hinde was appointed Colonel of the 15/19th Hussars. On 11 April 1957 he retired from active duty, with the honorary rank of major-general, and serving in the Army

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the T ...

until reaching mandatory retirement age on 25 June 1958. He continued to serve as Colonel of the 15th/19th Hussars until 1 January 1964.

Awards and decorations

* Distinguished Service Order and two bars On 22 July 1943 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East", and on 19 August 1943 received a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DSO. On 14 February 1946 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field" he received a second Bar. *

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

In the King's Birthday Honours of 10 June 1948, Hinde was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 31 May 1956, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). *

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

On 19 July 1955 he was appointed a Companion of the Bath (CB) "in recognition of distinguished service in Kenya during the period 21st October 1954, to 20th April 1955". * Mention in dispatches On 1 January 1955 he received a mention in dispatches "in recognition of distinguished services in Kenya during the period 21st April to 20th October 1954."

Personal life

He married Evelyn Muriel Wright, daughter of Captain Henry FitzHerbert Wright and Muriel Harriet Fletcher on 22 July 1926. The couple had one son, William (Bill), and three daughters, Elizabeth, Cathryn and Victoria. Hinde's nickname "Looney" was a tribute to both his courage and eccentricity; on one occasion while briefing his senior officers in Normandy in mid-June 1944 he was distracted by a rare caterpillar, which he promptly collected. In May 1947 he was detained by a Russian patrol while wandering along the border of the British and Soviet sectors of Berlin with a pair of binoculars. After explaining that he was simply birdwatching he was released with an apology. Hinde died on 13 July 1981, aged 81, at Salisbury, Wiltshire.

References

External links

* *
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinde, Robert 1900 births 1981 deaths Military personnel from Fife People from Cupar People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst English polo players Olympic polo players of Great Britain Polo players at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers British Army major generals British Army brigadiers of World War II British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Olympic medalists in polo