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 ...

William Robb (23 November 1888 – 27 March 1961) 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, who served in both

World War I 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 ...

and

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 opposin ...

Family background

William Robb was born in

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

on 23 November 1888. The

Robb Robb is a surname of Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname in the mid-15th ...

family owned a successful department store business in Hexham. He was educated in Edinburgh at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

as a boarding scholar. He was one of five children and all the male siblings would serve in the forces. One of his younger brothers - Sir James Milne Robb would rise to the rank of Air Vice Marshal in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

; all three of the Robb brothers (including William) would see service 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 ...

as officers in the Northumberland Fusiliers; although one would go on to join the RAF. Robb was a keen amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and played

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

in 1912 and 1913, making two appearances in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. William Robb married Nancy Chrystal Dodds in Hexham, Northumberland in 1916. They had one son William Walter Milroy Robb, who was born in 1919. After a lengthy absence from Northumberland during his career in the British Army Robb returned to live in the county, in the village of

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was known to the Romans as something like ''Corstopitum'' or ''Coriosopit ...

; although he died on 27 March 1961 in

Matfen Matfen is a village and a civil parish in Northumberland, England, near the town of Hexham and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is an example of a 19th-century planned estate village. It was the birthplace of the 7th Premier of British Colum ...

, Northumberland.

Military career

Early career and First World War

Robb was commissioned into a militia battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers on 8 January 1907; but he later transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers (a

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

/TF unit) 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 ...

on 1 April 1908. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1910. 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 ...

on 5 December 1912; serving with the battalion's D Company based at

Prudhoe Prudhoe ( ) is a town in south Northumberland, England, about west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and just south of the River Tyne. Situated on a steep, north-facing hill in the Tyne valley, Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 201 ...

. In 1914, the year the

began, Robb was mobilised for war, along with his battalion, and he is recorded as entering the theatre of operations, the Western Front, in April 1915. The battalion formed part of the

149th (Northumberland) Brigade The Northumberland Brigade was formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force of the British Army with four battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The brigade was numbered as 149th (Northumberland) Brigade in 1915 and served with the 50th ...

, itself part of the

50th (Northumbrian) Division The Northumbrian Division was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, Durham and the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire ...

. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) whilst serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers. Whilst on the Western Front with his unit Captain Robb was recorded as an active and popular member of the 4th Battalion the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was even given temporary lieutenant colonel rank and commanded the battalion in the Battle of St Quentin on 21 March 1918; during this particularly fierce battle he was wounded and evacuated.

Between the wars

After the war he decided to 'soldier on' and accepted a regular commission in the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

(KOYLI). By 5 June 1920 Robb was a captain in the 2nd Battalion the KOYLI. The battalion would see service in India from April 1922 and Robb served with his family until 1925 when they returned on a troopship to England. Robb remained in India serving as a staff officer at the headquarters of

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...

District in 1926. An Army List of 1938 recorded that Robb was commanding the 2nd Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

and that he had been in post since 12 April 1936, having been promoted 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 1 July 1933. The battalion was then serving in Palestine during the Arab revolt in Palestine. One of Robb's officers was Major

William Donovan Stamer Major General William Donovan Stamer CB, CBE, DSO, MC (14 June 1895 – 21 September 1963) was a British Army officer who was commissioned into the North Staffordshire Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War and served in the Army unt ...

, who would later go on to become a major-general and Colonel of the North Staffordshire Regiment.

Second World War

The August 1939 British Army List recorded Robb as promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 1 July 1936 and later in 1939 recorded as a temporary

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

commanding an infantry brigade. In 1940 he was part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanding the 9th Infantry Brigade (part of

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

's 3rd Infantry Division). In recognition of his performance during the retreat to Dunkirk and the evacuation of his brigade Colonel (Temporary Brigadier) William Robb was awarded the DSO. Shortly after returning from Dunkirk Robb was given command of the Senior Officers' School at Sheerness, a post he held until March 1941 when he briefly took command of the 73rd Independent Infantry Brigade. From 19 May 1941 to August 1943 he was put in charge of part of the defence of South Wales (specifically the Severn Sub-area) and he clearly did well at this post, as Colonel William Robb DSO MC (late of the North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's)) was made CBE in 1943. On 23 August 1943 Colonel (temporary brigadier) William Robb was granted the acting rank of major general. After the promotion he was posted to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

as General Officer Commanding the army garrison on the islands, remaining in post until 1945. A popular military beach club in the

Pembroke Army Garrison Pembroke Garrison is a dispersed collection of former British Army barracks built in the vicinity of Fort Pembroke, northern Malta. History Pembroke Garrison developed around a Victorian fortification (Fort Pembroke), a gun emplacement, a bar ...

area was named after him - the Robb Lido (which was redeveloped as a commercial hotel complex overlooking St George's Bay).

Post-war

On 23 November 1946 Colonel (Honorary Major General) Robb reached the age limit of liability to recall, and ceased to be held on the Reserve of Officers and was retired from the army; although he did take up the honorary post of regimental colonel of the KOYLI. He relinquished his post as regimental colonel of the KOYLI on 1 August 1950, a post he had held for three years.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, William Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross English cricketers Northumberland cricketers People from Corbridge People from Hexham Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers North Staffordshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II Commandants of the Senior Officers' School, Sheerness British Army major generals British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Military personnel from Northumberland