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Major General The Right Honourable The Viscount of Arbuthnott CB CBE DSO MC DL
Major General Arbuthnott in 1945
Born	(1897-08-21)21 August 1897 British India
Died	15 December 1966(1966-12-15) (aged 69) Hillside, Montrose, Angus, Scotland
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1952
Rank	Major General
Service number	13522
Unit	Black Watch
Commands	198th Infantry Brigade 11th Infantry Brigade 78th Infantry Division 51st (Highland) Infantry Division
Battles / wars	First World War Arab revolt in Palestine Second World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (3) Legion of Merit (United States)
Other work	Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire

Major General Robert Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, CB, CBE, DSO, MC, DL (21 August 1897 – 15 December 1966) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First World War and the Second World War.

Military career

He was educated at Fettes College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Black Watch on 14 July 1915 and was mentioned in dispatches and wounded in action during the First World War.

After being promoted to captain on 2 January 1924, he attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1931 to 1932, where Brian Horrocks, Sidney Kirkman, Cameron Nicholson and Nevil Brownjohn were among his classmates. After service in Palestine, he became an instructor at the Staff College in 1938 and then became a staff officer at Scottish Command in August 1941 during the Second World War. He then became commander of the 198th Brigade in May 1943, commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade in the Italian campaign in September 1943 and then General Officer Commanding 78th Infantry Division in the Italian campaign in November 1944.

After the war, he became Chief of the British Military Mission to the Egyptian Army in 1946, Chief of staff of Scottish Command in 1948 and General Officer Commanding 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and the Highland District of the Territorial Army in 1949 before retiring from the British Army in 1952 as a major general.

In retirement he was honorary colonel of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). He served as Deputy Lieutenant (DL), Kincardineshire in 1959 and then as Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire from 1960 to 1966.

Decorations

• Companion of the Order of the Bath awarded 5 July 1945 for gallant and distinguished services in Italy.
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire awarded 21 December 1944 for gallant and distinguished services in Italy
• Distinguished Service Order awarded 14 October 1938 for services in Palestine
• Military Cross awarded 22 April 1918 for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a raiding party. He took an active part in the preliminary reconnaissances and training and led his men with great success in the raid, inspiring them by his courage and keenness.
• Mentioned in Despatches 24 May 1918
• Mentioned in Despatches 25 April 1939 Palestine
• Mentioned in Despatches 24 August 1944 for gallant and distinguished services in Italy
• Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA) awarded 2 August 1945 for distinguished services in the cause of the Allies.

Family

Lord Arbuthnott married, 10 January 1924, Ursula Collingwood (died 20 December 1989), daughter of Sir William Collingwood, KBE of Dedham Grove, Colchester, Essex. They had three sons (including John Campbell Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, KT who succeeded him) and one daughter.

References

• Bing, Hon Mrs Christy (1999). The Lairds of Arbuthnott. Agnate Press. ISBN 0-9535923-0-8.

Footnotes

1. "No. 29228". The London Gazette. 13 July 1915. p. 6841.
2. ^ "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
3. ^ Smart 2005, p. 12.
4. ^ "Arbuthnott, Robert Keith". Generals.dk. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
5. "No. 41997". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 March 1960. p. 2362.
6. "Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott". Cracrofts Peerage. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
7. "No. 37161". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1945. p. 3490.
8. "No. 34561". The London Gazette. 14 October 1938. p. 6435.
9. "No. 34619". The London Gazette. 25 April 1939. p. 2750.
10. "No. 37204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 July 1945. p. 3962.
11. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999.

Bibliography

• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount of Arbuthnott
• Family tree
• British Army Officers 1939–1945
• Generals of World War II

• 1897 births
• 1966 deaths
• People from Inverbervie
• Nobility from Aberdeenshire
• Military personnel from Aberdeenshire
• Arbuthnot family
• Black Watch officers
• British Army generals of World War II
• British Army personnel of World War I
• British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine
• Commanders of the Legion of Merit
• Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
• Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
• Companions of the Order of the Bath
• Deputy lieutenants of Kincardineshire
• Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
• Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
• Lord-lieutenants of Kincardineshire
• People educated at Fettes College
• Recipients of the Military Cross
• Viscounts of Arbuthnott
• Military personnel of British India
• British Army major generals
• Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
• Academics of the Staff College, Camberley