Major-General Sir Roy Michael Frederick Redgrave, (16 September 1925 – 3 July 2011) was Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong.

Military career

Educated at Lambrook preparatory school and

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

, Redgrave joined the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

as a trooper in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Debrett's People of Today 1994 In 1953 he managed the Hyde Park Horse Camp for the

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of the Queen.Full marks for originality
''The Spectator'', 3 February 2001 Then in the late 1950s he was deployed to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

at the height of the

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

resistance campaign. He was made

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the

Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both ...

in 1962 and of the

in 1964. He became

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the Royal Armoured Corps Centre in 1974 and Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1975. He went on to be Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong in 1978 and retired in 1980.

Family life

He was related to the

Redgrave family The Redgrave family is a British acting dynasty, spanning five generations. Members of the family worked in theatre beginning in the nineteenth century, and later in film and television. Some family members have also written plays and books. Vanes ...

of actors, via his father Robin Roy Redgrave, who was the patriarch

Roy Redgrave George Ellsworthy "Roy" Redgrave (26 April 1873 – 25 May 1922) was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave is considered to be the first member of the Redgrave acting dynasty. Early life Born George Edward Redgrave in 122 Kenningt ...

's son by his first wife. Thus he was a nephew of Sir

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' ...

and a first cousin of the half blood of

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie W ...

Corin Corin is a given name in English deriving from the Latin Quirinus, a Roman god. The meaning is unclear but is probably associated with "spear". It is used as a masculine or feminine given name, and also as a surname. Given name * Corin Braga ...

and

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was a British and American actress. During a career that spanned five decades, she won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, two Em ...

. He had two sons.Major General Sir Roy Redgrave
''The Times'', 6 July 2011

References

Publications

* ''Balkan Blue'' by Major General Sir Roy Redgrave KBE MC, published by Pen & Sword, London 2000 * ''Adventures of Colonel Daffodil'' by Major General Sir Roy Redgrave KBE MC, published by Pen & Sword, London 2007 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Redgrave, Roy 1925 births 2011 deaths Military personnel from Bucharest British Army major generals British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Sherborne School Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Horse Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II British people of Romanian descent