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Robert Gordon-Finlayson

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For his son, seeRobert Gordon-Finlayson (British Army officer, born 1916).

General

Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson

KCB, CMG, DSO
Nickname(s)"Copper"[1]
Born(1881-04-15)15 April 1881
Died23 May 1956(1956-05-23)(aged 75)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1900–1941
RankGeneral
Service number6755
UnitRoyal Artillery
Commands heldWestern Command(1940–41)
British Troops in Egypt(1938–39)
3rd Division(1934–36)
Rawalpindi District (1931–34)
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order

GeneralSir Robert Gordon-Finlayson,KCB,CMG,DSO(15 April 1881 – 23 May 1956) was a senior British military officer who was appointedAdjutant-General to the Forcesin 1939.

Military career

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Finlayson entered theBritish Armyfrom the Suffolk Militia and wascommissionedinto theRoyal Artilleryassecond lieutenanton 17 March 1900.[2]He was promoted tolieutenanton 3 April 1901, and was attached to 131 Battery of the Royal Artillery, stationed atChatham.[3]Seconded to serve with theImperial Yeomanryduring theSecond Boer Warin South Africa from 25 April 1902,[4]he received the temporary rank ofcaptainserving in the 24th battalion, Imperial Yeomanry.[5]He vacated his appointment with the Imperial Yeomanry on 1 August 1902,[6]and returned to the Royal Artillery.[7]

Finlayson served during theFirst World War,initially as aRoyal Artilleryofficer with7th Divisionfrom 1914 and transferring to3rd Divisionin 1915.[2]He was awarded theDistinguished Service Orderin 1915. He became Deputy Assistant Adjutant General,1 Army Corpsin 1916 and thenGeneral Staff Officerto a Special Mission to Russia in 1917.[2]

After the war Finlayson was Deputy Commander, North Russia Forces, a post he held from 1918 to 1919.[2]He then became an instructor at the Senior Officer School in 1919 before attending theStaff College, Camberleyand being appointed Military Assistant toChief of the Imperial General Staffin 1921.[2]He went on to be aGeneral Staff Officerat theWar Officein 1922 and joined the Staff College in 1925.[2]

Finlayson was appointedCommanderRoyal Artilleryin the3rd Divisionin 1927 andCommanderRawalpindi Districtin India in 1931.[2]He served with3rd Divisionagain between 1934 and 1936 – this time asGeneral Officer Commanding.[2]He was promoted togeneralin 1937 and was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief theBritish Troops in Egyptin 1938.[2]

Finlayson also served in theSecond World War,being appointedAdjutant Generalin 1939.[2]In this role he was responsible for organising theHome Guardto defend the United Kingdom in the face of invasion.[8]He was also responsible for theArmy Councilintroducing acolour bar,whereby only those of pureEuropeanancestry could be commissioned as officers.[9]He becameGeneral Officer Commanding-in-Chief,Western Commandin 1940, from which post retired in 1941.[2]

Finlayson wasAide-de-Camp Generaltothe Kingfrom 1940 to 1941.[10]He was alsoColonel Commandantof theRoyal Artilleryfrom 1936 to 1946 andColonel Commandantof theRoyal Horse Artilleryfrom 1937 to 1947.[10]

Finlayson was appointed aCompanion of St Michael and St Georgein 1918, aCompanion of the Order of the Bathin 1931 and aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bathin 1937.[10]

Retirement

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Memorial to Robert Gordon-Finlayson in St Mary's Church, Kersey, Suffolk.

In retirement Finlayson was appointed a Special Commissioner for theImperial War Graves Commissionin 1942 and of theDuke of York's Royal Military School,also in 1942.[10]He was aDeputy LieutenantforSuffolk,[10]and lived inKersey.[10]

Finlayson was churchwarden ofSt Mary's Church, Kerseyand a memorial was erected in his memory in the church.[11]

Family

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Finlayson was married to Mary Leslie Richmond and together they had two sons, Air Vice Marshal James Richmond Gordon-Finlayson,[12]Major-GeneralRobert Gordon-Finlaysonand a daughter, Mary Leslie, who married to become Mary Boyle, Countess of Cork.[13]

References

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  1. ^Smart 2005,p. 121.
  2. ^abcdefghijkLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. ^Hart′s Army list, 1902
  4. ^"No. 27433".The London Gazette.13 May 1902. p. 3178.
  5. ^"No. 27431".The London Gazette.6 May 1902. p. 3012.
  6. ^"No. 27479".The London Gazette.3 October 1902. p. 6276.
  7. ^"No. 27513".The London Gazette.6 January 1903. p. 107.
  8. ^S. P. Mackenzie(1995).The Home Guard: A Military and Political History.Oxford University Press. p. 28.ISBN978-0-19-820577-7.
  9. ^Bourne, Stephen (2012).The Motherland Calls: Britain's Black Servicemen and WOmen 1939–45.Stroud: The History Press.
  10. ^abcdefWho Was Who Volume V 1951–1960 (1961)
  11. ^Corder, Joan; Blatchly, John (1998).A Dictionary of Suffolk Crests: Heraldic Crests of Suffolk Families.Boydell Press. p. 248.ISBN978-0851155548.
  12. ^JR Gordon-Finlayson
  13. ^The Peerage.com

Bibliography

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Military offices
Preceded by GOC 3rd Division
1934–1936 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC-in-C British Troops in Egypt
1938–1939 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Adjutant General
1939–1940 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC-in-C Western Command
1940–1941 		Succeeded by
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