Ronald Scobie
Date of birth | 8 June 1893 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Mandalay, British Burma[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 23 February 1969 | (aged 75)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Aldershot, Hampshire, England[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Military career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | British Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1914–1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | Lieutenant-General | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit | Royal Engineers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commands | III Corps 70th Infantry Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles / wars | First World War Second World War Greek Civil War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (4) War Cross (Czechoslovakia) Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (Poland) |
Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie, KBE, CB, MC (8 June 1893 – 23 February 1969)[2] was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, where he commanded the 70th Infantry Division and later III Corps.[3] He was also a Scotland international rugby union player.[4]
Military career
[edit]Scobie was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[5]
First World War
[edit]He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1914 and served during the First World War on the Western Front in France and Belgium. He was a General Staff Officer Grade 3 in France in 1918, and a Brigade Major in France from 1918 to 1920.
Between the wars
[edit]After the war, Scobie became Officer, Company of Gentlemen Cadets, Royal Marine Artillery, Woolwich 1920–1924; Staff Captain, Aldershot Command 1927–1929; Brigade Major, Aldershot Command 1929–1931[6] After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1925 to 1926, he became Director of Military Artillery at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1932 and, after attending the Imperial Defence College, was Assistant Adjutant General at the War Office in 1938.[6]
Second World War
[edit]In 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War Scobie, a brigadier, was deputy director of Mobilisation at the War Office.[6] After this he held the position Deputy Adjutant General at General Headquarters, Middle East Land Forces in 1940 before being given command of the 70th Infantry Division,[6] which was sent in to relieve the Australian 9th Division in Tobruk. Scobie was in command of the Tobruk fortress from 22 October 1941 to 13 December 1941, when, as part of Operation Crusader, the 70th Infantry Division led the break-out from Tobruk. In 1942 he became General Officer Commanding the Troops in Malta and on 22 March 1943 Scobie was promoted to lieutenant general and made Chief of the General Staff at General Headquarters Middle East.[6] From 11 December 1943 he was given command of III Corps[7] which was sent to Greece to expel the Germans but ended up becoming involved in the Greek Civil War. Scobie was in charge of the massacre that took place at Syntagma Square on 3 December 1944 at a demonstration involving 200,000 people, which left at least 28 dead after they were fired upon by soldiers. The Greek composer and lyricist Mikis Theodorakis who was present had spoken of at least 70 dead.[8] This signaled the beginning of the Dekemvriana (Greek: Δεκεμβριανά, "December events"), a 37-day period of full-scale fighting in Athens between EAM (National Liberation Front) fighters and smaller parts of ELAS (Greek People’s Liberation Army), and the forces of the British army and the government.
He remained in command of British forces in Greece until 1946, retiring from the army in 1947.
Rugby Union career
[edit]Amateur career
[edit]He played rugby union for the Royal Military College.
He played for the Army Rugby Union against the Royal Navy Rugby Union in the 1914 Inter-Services match.[9]
Provincial career
[edit]He played for the Blues Trial side against the Whites Trial side on 10 January 1914.[10]
International career
[edit]He was capped three times by Scotland, all in 1914.[11]
Other sports
[edit]He played cricket for Cheltenham College and for the Royal Engineers.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Ronald Scobie". CricketArchive.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ The Royal Engineers Journal. Vol. 83. The Institution of Royal Engineers. 1969. p. 152.
- ^ "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Ronald Mackenzie Scobie". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Maule 1975, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ "Ronald Scobie". Orders of Battle.com.
- ^ „Bestie Faschismus überlebt“ (Junge Welt, Montag, 14. Oktober 2024)
- ^ "Register". Retrieved 30 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Ronald Scobie - Test matches". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- Maule, Henry (1975). Scobie, Hero of Greece: The British Campaign, 1944-5. Barker, 1975. ISBN 9780213165543.
- 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.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
External links
[edit]- 1893 births
- 1969 deaths
- Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies
- British Army generals of World War II
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
- Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
- Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at Cheltenham College
- People from Mandalay
- People of the Greek Civil War
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Royal Engineers officers
- War Office personnel in World War II
- Blues Trial players
- Scotland international rugby union players
- Scottish rugby union players
- Army rugby union players
- British Army lieutenant generals
- Academics of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
- Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
- Rugby union centres