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{{Short description|British Army general (1908–1983)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Sir Robert Bray
|image=General RNHC Bray GBE KCB DSO.jpg
|caption=
|birth_date=14 June 1908
|death_date=14 August 1983 (aged 75)
|placeofburial_label=
|placeofburial=
|birth_place=Dacca, Bengal Presidency{{efn|now Dhaka, Bangladesh}}
|death_place=[[Warminster]], [[London]], [[England]]
|nickname="Bobbie"
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears=1928–1971
|servicenumber=39414
|rank=[[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
|unit=[[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]]
|commands=2nd Battalion, [[Gloucestershire Regiment]] [[185th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|185th Infantry Brigade]] [[29th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|29th Infantry Brigade]] [[56th (London) Infantry Division|56th (London) Armoured Division]] [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] [[Allied Forces Northern Europe]]
|battles=[[World War II]]
|awards=[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] [[Distinguished Service Order]]
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] '''Sir Robert Napier Hubert Campbell (Bobbie) Bray''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|GBE|KCB|DSO*}} (14 June 1908 – 14 August 1983) was a British [[soldier]], deputy Supreme Commander Europe of [[NATO]]'s Allied Command Europe from 1967 to 1970.

==Education==
Bray was educated at [[St Ronan's School]], [[Worthing]],<ref>[http://www.saintronans.co.uk/Default.aspx?ID=382 St Ronan's School] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003073754/http://www.saintronans.co.uk/Default.aspx?ID=382 |date=3 October 2011 }}</ref> followed by [[Gresham's School]], [[Holt, Norfolk|Holt]], and the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greshams.com/prep-schools-2/archives/roll-of-honour/military-roll-honour/|title=Military Roll of Honour|publisher=Gresham's School|accessdate=16 June 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
Bray was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[Second Lieutenant|second lieutenant]] in the 1st Battalion of the [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment|Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment]] on 2 February 1928.<ref name=lh>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/BRAY1.shtml Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]</ref>

He served in North West Europe and the [[Middle East]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]<ref name=lh/> being promoted to temporary [[Lieutenant Colonel|lieutenant colonel]] on 19 October 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_B04.html#Bray_RNHC |title=Bray, Robert|publisher=Unit Histories|accessdate=17 June 2020}}</ref>

He became a Brigadier on the General Staff at the [[British Army of the Rhine]] in 1950 and then Director of Land-Air Warfare and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] Standardization at the [[War Office]] in December 1954.<ref name=lh/> Promoted to major-general on 29 October 1955, he became [[General Officer Commanding]] [[56th (London) Infantry Division|56th (London) Armoured Division]] in April 1957.<ref name=lh/> He then became [[General Officer Commanding|GOC]] British Land Forces in the Arabian Peninsula in 1959 and GOC [[Middle East Land Forces]] in 1960.<ref name=lh/>

He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27 February 1961 and served as GOC-in-C at [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] from August 1961 to September 1963.<ref name=lh/> He was promoted to full [[general]] on 25 February 1965. He was the [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Honorary Colonel]] of the [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]] from 1965 to 1975. He served as Commander-in-Chief [[Allied Forces Northern Europe]] between November 1963 and February 1967 and as Deputy Supreme Commander Europe at [[NATO]]'s Allied Command between May 1967 and December 1970,<ref name=lh/> succeeding [[Thomas Pike|Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike]]. He retired on 9 March 1971.<ref name=lh/>

==Honours==
*1944 – [[Distinguished Service Order]] for gallant and distinguished services in Normandy<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36679|page=4044|date=31 August 1944 |supp=y }}</ref>
*1945 – Bar to [[Distinguished Service Order]] for gallant and distinguished services in north west Europe<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37061|page=1|date=1 May 1945 |supp=y }}</ref>
*1952 – [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39555|page=3013|date=5 June 1952 |supp=y }}</ref>
*1956 – [[Order of the Bath|Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40960|page=6|date=28 December 1956 |supp=y }}</ref>
*1962 – [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=42552|page=2|date=1 January 1962 |supp=y }}</ref>
*1966 – [[Order of the British Empire|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=43854|page=3|date=1 January 1966 |supp=y }}</ref>
*Colonel of the [[Duke of Wellington's Regiment]], October 1965 to July 1975
*[[Mentioned in Despatches]] North West Frontier 1935
*[[Mentioned in Despatches]] 20 December 1940

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*''I Will Plant Me a Tree'' by Steve Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) {{ISBN|0-907383-92-0}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ordersofbattle.com/PersonData.aspx?PerX=521 Military Career of RNHC Bray at ordersofbattle.com]
*[http://members.tripod.com/~Glosters/LC2.htm Glorious Gloucesters]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030302/http://www.dwr.org.uk/dwr.php?id=308 The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)]
*[http://members.tripod.com/~Glosters/HA2.htm Honours and Awards of the Glosters]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120218092914/http://www.rafweb.org/NATO1.htm Multinational Commands RAF]
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_B04.html#Bray_RNHC British Army Officers 1939−1945]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Bray/Robert_Napier_Hubert_Campbell/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[David Dawnay]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[56th (London) Infantry Division|GOC 56th (London) Armoured Division]]|years=1954–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Deakin (British Army officer)|Peter Deakin]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Nigel Poett|Sir Nigel Poett]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|GOC-in-C Southern Command]]|years=1961–1963}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kenneth Darling|Sir Kenneth Darling]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Pyman|Sir Harold Pyman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Allied Forces Northern Europe|Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe]]|years=1963–1967}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kenneth Darling|Sir Kenneth Darling]]}}
|-
{{succession box|before=[[Thomas Pike|Sir Thomas Pike]]|title=[[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe]]|after=[[Desmond Fitzpatrick]]|years=1967–1970}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Robert}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:British Army brigadiers of World War II]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Duke of Wellington's Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:NATO military personnel]]
[[Category:People educated at Gresham's School]]
[[Category:People from Worthing]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]

Robert Bray (British Army officer) - Revision history

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