Reginald Hobbs
{{Short description|British Army general (1908–1977)}}
{{about||his father, the British Army officer|Reginald Francis Arthur Hobbs}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Reginald Hobbs
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|08|08|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Elham, Kent, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1977|11|07|1908|08|08|df=yes}}
| death_place = Bromley, London, England
| placeofburial = Camberley, Surrey, England
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = British Army
| serviceyears = 1928–1960
| rank = Major General
| servicenumber = 40387
| unit = Royal Artillery
| commands = 1st Division
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
2nd Infantry Brigade
104th Regiment (Essex Yeomanry), Royal Horse Artillery
| battles = Second World War
| awards = Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
| relations = Sir William Stirling {{small|(grandfather)}}
Reginald Francis Arthur Hobbs {{small|(father)}}
| laterwork =
}}
Major General Reginald Geoffrey Stirling Hobbs, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|CB|DSO|OBE}} (8 August 1908 − 7 November 1977) was a British Army officer who served as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1954 to 1957.
Early life
Hobbs was the eldest son of Brigadier General Reginald Francis Arthur Hobbs and Frances Graham Stirling, daughter of Sir William Stirling. His brothers, Major Peter Graham Hobbs (1911–1942) and Lieutenant Colonel William Paul Hobbs (1914–1943), were both killed in action in the Second World War.{{cite news |title= Obituary: Brig.-Gen. R. F. A. Hobbs |work=The Times |date=14 July 1953 |page=8 }}
Military career
File:21st Army Group officers.png, June 1944. Colonel R. G. S. Hobbs, wearing peaked cap, is stood third from the right in the back row.]]
Hobbs was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1928.[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/HOBBS2.shtml Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives] He played rugby for England against South Africa at Twickenham in 1932,[http://www.espnscrum.com/england/rugby/player/3923.html ESPN Scrum] and then served in India. He fought in the Second World War, becoming commanding officer of the 104th Regiment (Essex Yeomanry), Royal Horse Artillery in the Western Desert taking part in the Battle of El Alamein in 1942 and then being deployed to North West Europe as a General Staff Officer.
After the war, Hobbs was chief of staff for Combined Operations. Then in 1950, he became Commander Royal Artillery for the 1st Division in the Middle East. He was made commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade in 1951, Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1954 and Director of the Royal Artillery at the War Office in 1957. He went on to be General Officer Commanding 1st Division in 1959 before retiring in 1960.
In retirement Hobbs was President of the Regular Commissions Board, Honorary Colonel of the Essex Yeomanry and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1963 to 1968. He lived at Lerags House in Oban in Argyllshire.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Guy Gregson}}
{{s-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding 1st Division|years=1959–1960}}
{{s-aft|after=Alan Jolly}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=David Dawnay}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|years=1954–1957}}
{{s-aft|after=Ronald Urquhart}}
{{s-end}}
{{Rugby Football Union Presidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Reginald Geoffrey Stirling}}
Category:People from Elham, Kent
Category:British Army major generals
Category:Royal Artillery officers
Category:Essex Yeomanry officers
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Commandants of Sandhurst
Category:England international rugby union players