Ouvry Lindfield Roberts
General Sir Ouvry Roberts | |
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Mentioned in Despatches |
Military career
Educated at
Roberts played first-class cricket for the University of Cambridge in 1925, and for the Free Foresters in 1926.[4] After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1934 to 1935, he served as Deputy Director of Military Operations and Intelligence in India from 17 September 1939 to 28 January 1941.[1][2]
In January 1941, Roberts was appointed GSO1 (Chief Staff Officer) of the 10th Indian Infantry Division, which was then forming at Ahmednagar in India. Three months later the division was ordered to Iraq.[5] The RAF training base at Habbaniya, defended by 1,200 locally recruited Assyrians and Kurds and some armoured cars, was threatened by an Iraqi force in late April and three companies from the 1st Battalion , King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) were sent by air to reinforce the base. Roberts was sent to Habbaniya on 1 May to review the situation,[6] and assumed the de facto command of the land operations at RAF Habbaniya after the departure of Air Vice Marshal Harry George Smart who had been injured in a car accident.[7] Roberts was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for commanding the ground forces defending RAF Habbaniya.[8]
Roberts commanded what became known as the "Habbaniya Brigade" and, on 19 May 1941, participated in the successful capture of Fallujah.[9] The Habbaniya Brigade was formed in the week following the end of the Iraqi siege of the British garrison at Habbaniya. Roberts formed the brigade by grouping the infantry reinforcements from Basra (2/4 Gurkha) and from Kingcol (1 Essex).[10] Roberts returned to 10th Indian Division after completing what his divisional commander, Major General William Slim, later described as "one of the best single-handed jobs any officer of his then rank had performed in the war".[11]
As chief staff officer, Roberts played an important role in the 10th Indian Division's involvement in the Euphrates expedition during the
From 1 July 1942 until 24 January 1943,
On 10 August 1943 Roberts was promoted to acting major general and appointed
On 12 March 1945 Roberts was promoted acting lieutenant general and appointed General Officer Commanding
After the war Roberts was appointed as Vice
Roberts was
Retirement
In retirement Roberts was a Director of Grosvenor Laing and then President of Grosvenor Laing from 1955 to 1960.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ a b c d e f Half Yearly Army List January 1946
- ^ Smart 2005, p. 274.
- ^ "First-Class Matches played by Ouvry Roberts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ Mead 2007, p. 395.
- ^ a b c Mead 2007, p. 396.
- ^ Lyman 2006, p. 19.
- ^ "No. 35396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 December 1941. p. 7333.
- ^ Lyman 2006, p. 20.
- ^ Lyman 2006, p. 69.
- ^ Slim 1956, p. 301.
- ^ Mead 2007, p. 397.
- ^ Mead 2007, pp. 397–398.
- ^ a b Mead 2007, p. 398.
Bibliography
- Lyman, Robert (2006). Iraq 1941: The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad. Campaign Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-991-6.
- Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
- OCLC 253543428.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
- Wavell, Archibald (1946). Despatch on Operations in Iraq, East Syria and Iran from 10th April, 1941 to 12th January, 1942. London: War Office. in "No. 37685". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 August 1946. pp. 4093–4102.