Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Sir Robert Allingham George, (27 July 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a senior officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

from 23 February 1953 until 7 March 1960. He was born in the County of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, on 27 July 1896, and educated at

Invergordon Invergordon (; or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen. History The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area ...

and

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. In May 1927, he married Sybil Elizabeth Baldwin.

Military career

When the First World War began in 1914, George enlisted in the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

and was sent to France.Air Vice-Marshal Sir Robert George
''Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation'' He was transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his night bombing. In 1919 he was appointed to a permanent commission in the

. He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 100 Squadron in 1930 and Officer Commanding No. 33 Squadron in 1932. George later served as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Far East in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

from 1934 and as Station Commander at RAF Hawkinge from 1937. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was Air Attaché in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. He went on to be Air Officer Commanding AHQ Iraq and Persia in 1944. After the War he served as Air Attaché in Paris until he retired in 1952. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1944 and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1948, promoted to substantive air vice marshal in 1950 and knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1952.

Governor of South Australia

Sir Robert was appointed Governor of South Australia in August 1952. He and Lady George arrived in Adelaide early the following year. The Premier, Sir Thomas Playford, noted in his welcome address to Sir Robert that governors were expected to be "an inspiration in times of danger." Playford's words turned out to be portentous – South Australia would suffer through earthquake, fire and flood in consecutive years during Sir Robert's tenure. In March 1954, the worst earthquake in Adelaide's history damaged

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

, along with many other buildings in the city. Less than a year later, the Governor's summer residence at Marble Hill was destroyed in the Black Sunday bushfires of January 1955. He and his wife and staff sheltered under wet blankets in the driveway, and were lucky to escape with their lives. In a particularly cruel twist of fate, all Sir Robert and Lady George's possessions were lost in the fire, having been relocated to Marble Hill while Government House was undergoing repairs for the damage suffered in the earthquake.Australian Dictionary of Biography Online – George, Sir Robert Allingham
/ref> Finally, the 1956 Murray River flood was the largest in recorded history. On 20 August, Sir Robert surveyed the flood-hit areas in a light aircraft, and said he was "appalled at the tremendous area underwater and the terrific damage which had resulted." Sir Robert was a colourful governor, once demanding a personal helicopter from Premier Playford. Although admired for his bravery, Sir Robert was considered old-fashioned by the masses, particularly due to his impatience,

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

-playing, and his habit of carrying a fly-whisk and a

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

. Lady George was an ardent supporter of many charities, but her support for traditional family roles was not popular with the emerging

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

; once, while officiating at the opening of new laboratories at a girls' college, she claimed: "The most important thing for a girl is to learn how to run a home well." Despite their frequent clashes, Playford supported George and the dignity of the Vice-Regal post in a 1956 court case regarding the cook's wages. The prosecuting lawyer was future Labor premier

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

. Playford negotiated an out-of-court settlement on condition that Dunstan and his Labor colleagues in the House would not debate the budget item. Labor maverick Samuel Lawn (the member for

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

) did not honour the agreement, and tried to raise a public scandal. Playford responded by extending George's term.

Freemasonry

George was appointed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of South Australia in 1956.

Retirement and death

George and his family retired to England in 1959 after which he held no further government appointments. He died in a London Hospital on 13 September 1967, after being hit by a motorist and not regaining consciousness.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Robert 1896 births 1967 deaths Military personnel from Ross and Cromarty Scottish airmen Scottish knights British air attachés Governors of South Australia Australian Freemasons Scottish Freemasons Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Order of St John Pedestrian road incident deaths Recipients of the Military Cross Road incident deaths in London Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Seaforth Highlanders soldiers