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 Maxwell Johnstone (9 March 1914 – 11 March 1990) 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.

Early life

Johnstone was born in Edinburgh and educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

Craigflower Preparatory School Craigflower Preparatory School was an independent preparatory school for boys at Torryburn near Dunfermline, Scotland. History Craigflower Preparatory School was established at Craigflower House, Torryburn, near Dunfermline, Fife in 1923. ( ...

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He graduated M.A. M.B. B.Chir. from Cambridge and M.B. Ch.B. from Edinburgh in 1938. From 1938-1939 he was employed as a resident house physician and surgeon at the

Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

. He attained MRCPED in 1940, FRCPED in 1944 and MD in 1954.

Army

Throughout World War II he served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. Between 1938-1941 he served with 129 Field Regiment and became company commander of the 167 Field Regiment from 1941-1943. In 1943 he was based at the Staff College,

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. Johnstone 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 i ...

(MC) in August 1943, for his services at Enfidaville, Tunisia, in April/May 1943. From 1945-1946 he was commanding officer of 3 Field Ambulance. Johnstone was medical advisor to HQ

East Africa Command East Africa Command was a Command of the British Army. Until 1947 it was under the direct control of the Army Council and thereafter it became the responsibility of Middle East Command. It was disbanded on 11 December 1963, the day before Kenya bec ...

from 1950-1951. He served with the Commonwealth forces, Korea between 1954-1955. On 22 October 1954 he was appointed a

Member 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 o ...

(MBE) in recognition of distinguished services in Malaya during the period 1 January to 30 June. From 1955-1957 he was officer in charge of the medical division at the

Cambridge Military Hospital Cambridge Military Hospital was a hospital completed in 1879 in Aldershot Garrison, Hampshire, England which served the various British Army camps there. During World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviate ...

Aldershot Garrison Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the villa ...

, Hampshire. Between 1957-1959 he was based at

Queen Alexandra Military Hospital The Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (QAMH) opened in July 1905. It was constructed immediately to the north of the Tate Britain (across a side-street) adjacent to the River Thames on the borders of the neighbourhoods of Millbank and Pimlico, W ...

(QAMH),

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Millb ...

, London. In 1959 he became Professor of Medicine,

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt. Nomenclature Both University ...

and honorary consultant physician to the Iraqi Army. From 1963-1965 he was commanding officer of British Military Hospital (BMH),

Iserlohn Iserlohn (; Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region. Geography Iserlohn is locat ...

, Germany, and from 1965-1967 he was consultant physician to HQ, Far East Land Forces (FARELF). Between 1967-1968 he was deputy director of medical services, Southern Command and Army Strategic Command from 1968-1969. In June 1969 he was appointed

Commander of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(CStJ). Following his retirement from the Army in 1969 he served as assistant director (overseas) of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation from 1970-1976.

References

External links

Robert Maxwell Johnstone - National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonstone, Robert Maxwell 1914 births 1990 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Craigflower Preparatory School People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Royal Army Medical Corps officers Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh British Army personnel of World War II Scottish generals British Army major generals Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of St John Military personnel from Edinburgh