Brigadier Richard Evelyn Simpkin MC (1921–1986) 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 Gurkha ...

officer. Simpkin was commissioned into the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

in 1941. He cut short a degree course at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to do so. He served in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

where he won 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 ...

and was taken prisoner. Simpkin was awarded an

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 ...

(OBE) for his part in the new design of the

Chieftain tank The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s–1990s. A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine (reclining) driver position to British design allowing a heavily sloped hull with r ...

and retired from the army in 1971. He continued to write, lecture and consult about armour doctrine, tactics and Soviet thinking, living at first in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, England where he was brought up and then in Elgin, Scotland.

Bibliography (incomplete)

*''Antitank: An Airmechanized Response to Armored Threats in the 90s''. Oxford: Brassey's, 1982. . *(In association with

John Erickson John Erickson may refer to: * John E. Erickson (Montana politician) (1863–1946), American politician from Montana * John E. Erickson (basketball) (1927–2020), American basketball coach and executive, Wisconsin politician * John P. Erickson (1 ...

), ''Deep Battle: The Brainchild of Marshal Tukhachevskii''. London: Brassey's Defence, 1987. . *''Broadmanship: A Guide to Safe Boating on the Norfolk Broads''. Cartoons by Nicholas Walmsley, illustrations by Chas Emerson. London: Barrie and Jenkins, Bayard Books, 1976. . *''The Cruising Yachtsman's Navigator''. Illustrated by John Bradley. London: S. Paul, 1978. , . *''Human Factors in Mechanized Warfare''. Oxford: Brassey's Publishers, 1983. . *''Race to the Swift: Thoughts on Twenty-first Century Warfare''. Foreword by

Donn A. Starry General Donn Albert Starry (May 31, 1925 – August 26, 2011) was a United States Army four-star general who served as commanding general of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from 1977 to 1981, and as commander in chief of United Sta ...

. London: Brassey's Defence, 1985. . *''Red Armour: An Examination of the Soviet Mobile Force Concept''. Oxford: Brassey's Defence, 1984. . *''Seamanship for the Cruising Yachtsman''. London: Paul, 1979. . *''Tank Warfare: An Analysis of Soviet and NATO Tank Philosophy''. With a foreword by Robert W. Komer and an introduction by F. M. von Senger und Etterlin. London: Brassey's Publishers, 1979. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpkin, Richard 1921 births 1986 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Simpkin, Richard Simpkin, Richard Simpkin, Richard British World War II prisoners of war Military theorists British Army brigadiers