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 Lyon (24 October 1923 – 13 November 2019) 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.

Military career

Educated at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 from ...

, Lyon was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in August 1943 and saw action in Europe during 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 ...

.'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010, After transferring to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1947, he became commanding officer of 4th Light Regiment Royal Artillery in 1965 and in that role was deployed to

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He went on to be Commander Royal Artillery, 1st Armoured Division in 1967, Director of Operational Requirements at the Ministry of Defence in 1971 and Director Royal Artillery in 1973. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding South West District in 1975 before retiring in 1978. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

. In 1951 he married Constance Margaret Gordon; they had one son and one daughter. Following the death of his first wife, he married Rosemary Jane Allchin in 1992. He died on 13 November 2019 at the age of 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Robert 1923 births 2019 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers Royal Artillery officers