Robert Arkwright
British Army general
title: "Robert Arkwright" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1903-births", "1971-deaths", "war-office-personnel-in-world-war-ii", "graduates-of-the-royal-military-college,-sandhurst", "graduates-of-the-staff-college,-camberley", "people-of-the-greek-civil-war", "british-army-major-generals", "12th-royal-lancers-officers", "companions-of-the-order-of-the-bath", "companions-of-the-distinguished-service-order", "british-army-brigadiers-of-world-war-ii", "people-from-bickley", "military-personnel-from-the-london-borough-of-bromley"] description: "British Army general" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Arkwright" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary British Army general ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| honorific_prefix | Major-General |
| name | Robert Arkwright |
| honorific_suffix | |
| image | Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany.jpg |
| image_size | 200px |
| caption | Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany, 1950. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Stephens explains the exercise to a group of officers, including Général d'armée Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Major-General Robert Arkwright, and Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Keightley. |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Bickley, Kent, England |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Swindon, Wiltshire |
| allegiance | United Kingdom |
| branch | British Army |
| serviceyears | 1924–1951 |
| rank | Major-General |
| servicenumber | 28043 |
| unit | 12th Royal Lancers |
| commands | 7th Armoured Division (1949–1951) |
| 56th (London) Armoured Division (1948–1949) | |
| 2nd Infantry Division (1946) | |
| 23rd Armoured Brigade (1943–1946) | |
| battles | Second World War |
| Greek Civil War | |
| awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath |
| Distinguished Service Order & Bar | |
| :: |
| honorific_prefix = Major-General | name = Robert Arkwright | honorific_suffix = | image = Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany.jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Senior British and French Army officers observe a NATO exercise in Germany, 1950. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Stephens explains the exercise to a group of officers, including Général d'armée Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Major-General Robert Arkwright, and Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Keightley. | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Bickley, Kent, England | death_date = | death_place = Swindon, Wiltshire | placeofburial = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = British Army | serviceyears = 1924–1951 | rank = Major-General | servicenumber = 28043 | unit = 12th Royal Lancers | commands = 7th Armoured Division (1949–1951) 56th (London) Armoured Division (1948–1949) 2nd Infantry Division (1946) 23rd Armoured Brigade (1943–1946) | battles = Second World War Greek Civil War | awards = Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar | relations = | laterwork = Major-General Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright, (30 July 1903 – 14 November 1971) was a British Army officer who served in the Second World War and later commanded the 2nd Infantry Division.
Early life
Arkwright was born in Bickley, Kent, England, the son of Bertram Harry Godfrey Arkwright (1879–1949) and his wife Grace Emma Julia Hurt. Francis Arkwright was his younger brother.
In 1927 Arkwright married Kathleen Gladys Hanbury. He lived at Pen y Bryn Hall in Montgomery.
Military career
After attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Arkwright was commissioned into the 12th Royal Lancers on 31 January 1924. He attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1934 to 1935.
Arkwright served in the Second World War, initially at the War Office as a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2), then as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for the 1st Armoured Division during the Battle of France, as a General Staff Officer with the 8th Armoured Division and as brigadier responsible for Armoured Fighting Vehicles in the Eighth Army, before being made commander of the 23rd Armoured Brigade in 1943. After the war he became General Officer Commanding the 2nd Infantry Division in 1946, Director of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1947 and General Officer Commanding the 56th (London) Armoured Division in 1948. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding 7th Armoured Division from 1949 until his retirement in 1951.
References
References
- (15 November 1971). "Obituary: Maj-Gen R. H. B. Arkwright". [[The Times]].
- (1908). "Visitation of England and Wales". Priv. print..
- {{usurped
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=Gql3JbSYeG4C&dq=Major-General+robert+Arkwright&pg=PA60 ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors'', Volume 14, By Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans, p.60]
- "Arkwright, Robert". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives.
- "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories.
- As commander of the 23rd Armoured Brigade, he took part in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily. Sicily landings]], the [[Allied invasion of Italy. Italy landings]], both part of the [[Italian campaign (World War II). Italian Campaign]], and later the [[Greek Civil War. Civil War in Greece]].[http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/2098.htm Major-General Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright]
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