Robert Pollok (British Army officer)
Robert Pollok | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | "Val"[1] |
| Born | 14 February 1884 Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 29 September 1979 (aged 95) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1903–1941 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Service number | 6066 |
| Unit | 15th The King's Hussars Irish Guards |
| Commands | 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (1940–41) Northern Ireland District (1938–40) Senior Officers' School, Sheerness (1935–38) 1st Guards Brigade (1931–35) 1st Battalion, Irish Guards (1926–30) |
| Conflicts | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (4) |
Major-General Robert Valentine Pollok, CB, CBE, DSO (29 September 1884 – 14 February 1979) was an Irish-born British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland District from 1938 to 1940.
Military career
After attending Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Pollok was commissioned into the 15th Hussars in 1903.[2] He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of United Provinces in India in 1908 and Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General of Australia in 1913.[2]
Pollok served in the First World War with the Australian Forces in Gallipoli and was then transferred to the Irish Guards in 1916.[2] He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards in 1917, receiving a promotion to acting lieutenant colonel in the process.[3] After the war he attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1920 to 1921, was appointed Brigade Major for the 1st Guards Brigade at Aldershot Command and then, in 1926, he was re-appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.[2] He was made commander of the 1st Guards Brigade at Aldershot Command in 1931 and commandant of the Senior Officer School at Sheerness in 1935.[2]
Pollok was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) Northern Ireland District in 1938[4] and GOC 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division in July 1940.[2] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in July 1940[5] and retired in 1941.[2]
References
- ^ Smart 2005, p. 253.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Pollok, Robert". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "No. 30247". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 August 1917. p. 8670.
- ^ "Pollok, Robert Valentine". Generals.dk. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1940. p. 4244.
Bibliography
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 1844150496.