Rob Williams (New Zealand general)
{{Short description|New Zealand army general (1930–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Major General
| name = Rob Williams
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|size=100%|CB|MBE|OStJ}}
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Robin Guy Williams
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|08|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = Wellington, New Zealand
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|02|04|1930|08|14|df=y}}
| death_place =
| spouse = {{marriage|Jill Rollo Tyrie|1953}}
| children = 3
| allegiance = New Zealand
| branch = New Zealand Army
| serviceyears =
| rank = Major General
| unit =
| commands = {{ubl|1 RNZIR|Chief of the General Staff}}
| battles = {{ubl|Malayan Emergency|Vietnam War}}
| relations = George Williams (grandfather)
}}
Major General Robin Guy Williams {{post-nominals|country=NZL|size=85%|CB|MBE|OStJ}} (14 August 1930 – 4 February 2023) was a New Zealand military leader. He served as Chief of the General Staff from 1981 to 1984.
Early life and family
Born in Wellington on 14 August 1930, Williams was the son of John Upham Williams and Margaret Joan Williams (née Mayfield).{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |author-link1=Alister Taylor |author-link2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2 |page=395}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19260626.2.2.2 |title=Marriages |date=26 June 1926 |work=The Dominion |volume=19 |issue=242 |page=1 |access-date=14 February 2023}} Both of his parents were medical doctors.{{cite web |url=https://www.earlymedwomen.auckland.ac.nz/graduate-roll/ |title=Graduate roll |website=The early medical women of New Zealand |date=25 May 2020 |publisher=University of Auckland |access-date=14 February 2023}} Williams was educated at Nelson College from 1943 to 1948.{{cite book |chapter=Full school list of Nelson College, 1856–2005 |title=Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006 |year=2006 |edition=6th |type=CD-ROM}}
In 1953, Williams married Jill Rollo Tyrie, and the couple went on to have three children.
Military career
Williams joined the New Zealand Army in 1948, and attended the Royal Military College, Duntroon, from 1949 to 1952. He later studied at the Royal Military College of Science in 1962, the Staff College, Camberley, in 1963, the Joint Services Staff College in Canberra in 1972, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1976. He served overseas during the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War.{{cite web |url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/87677 |title=Robin Guy Williams |website=Online Cenotaph |publisher=Auckland War Memorial Museum |access-date=13 February 2023}}
Between 1977 and 1979, Williams served as Commander Field Force. He was Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations / Plans) from 1979 to 1980, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff in 1981. In late 1981, he succeeded Brian Poananga as Chief of the General Staff, serving in that role until December 1984, when he retired from the army.
Post-army career
After leaving the army, Williams was the deputy chair of Operation Raleigh New Zealand from 1985 to 1986, and then chair of that organisation from 1986 to 1989. He was the chief executive of St John New Zealand from 1986 to 1987, chief executive of the Auckland division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand from 1987 to 1993, and then chief executive of St John in the Auckland region.
Williams died on 4 February 2023.{{cite news |url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/robin-williams-obituary?id=42244829 |title=Robin Williams obituary |date=8 February 2023 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=14 February 2023}} His wife, Jill, died in 2025.{{cite news |url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/jill-williams-obituary?id=58678709 |title=Jill Williams obituary |date=21 June 2025 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=21 June 2025}}
Rugby union
Williams represented the Royal Military College, Duntroon, at rugby union from 1949 to 1952. He played for the Australian Capital Territory in 1951 and 1952, and New South Wales Country in 1952. He was a member of the New Zealand Army and New Zealand Combined Services teams between 1953 and 1956.
Honours and awards
In the 1969 New Year Honours, Williams was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division).{{London Gazette |issue=44742 |date=1 January 1969 |page=42 |supp=3}} He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) in the 1983 New Year Honours.{{London Gazette |issue=49214 |date=31 December 1982 |page=50 |supp=3}} In 1987, Williams was appointed an Officer of the Order of St John.{{London Gazette |issue=50858 |date=12 March 1987 |page=3300}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Major General Brian Poananga}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chief of the General Staff|years=1981–1984}}
{{s-aft|after=Major General John Mace}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rob}}
Category:Military personnel from Wellington City
Category:People educated at Nelson College
Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
Category:New Zealand military personnel of the Malayan Emergency
Category:New Zealand military personnel of the Vietnam War
Category:New Zealand rugby union players
Category:New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath