Robert Ford (British Army officer)
British general (1923–2015)
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General Sir Robert Cyril Ford (29 December 1923 – 24 November 2015) was a British Army general who was Adjutant-General to the Forces. The Bloody Sunday shootings occurred during his tenure as Commander Land Forces, Northern Ireland.
Sir Robert Ford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 December 1923 |
| Died | 24 November 2015 (aged 91) Dorset, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
Branch |  British Army |
Service years | 1943–1981 |
Rank | General |
| Service number | 284433 |
| Unit | 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards |
| Commands | 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 7 Armoured Brigade Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
Conflicts | World War II Palestine Emergency The Troubles |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in despatches (2) |
Early career
Born in Devon to John and Gladys Ford, Robert Ford was educated at Musgrave's College and received an emergency commission in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1943.[1] He served in North West Europe during World War II and was mentioned in despatches.[2] He was appointed to a permanent commission with the substantive rank of lieutenant on 29 June 1946.[3] He was appointed a lieutenant in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards on 1 February 1947 and was deployed to Palestine during the Palestine Emergency the same year, where as a temporary captain he was again mentioned in despatches in 1948.[2][3] He was promoted to captain on 29 December 1950 and to major on 29 December 1957.[4][5]
Ford was brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1962 and promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel on 4 February 1966.[6][7] He became Commanding Officer of 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards the same year. Skipping one rank, he was promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1967 and appointed Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in 1968.[2][8]
Northern Ireland and Bloody Sunday
On 29 July 1971 Brigadier Ford was appointed Commander Land Forces, Northern Ireland, with the acting rank of major-general; he was promoted to the substantive rank on 29 August.[9][10][11] He was criticised in the Saville Report into the Bloody Sunday massacre of 30 January 1972 in Derry for deploying soldiers to arrest peaceful protestors: "In our view his decision to use 1 Para as the arrest force is open to criticism but he did not know his decision would result in soldiers firing unjustifiably".[12]
In the secret memo to his superior, dated 7 January 1972, Ford had said he was "coming to the conclusion that the minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ringleaders amongst the DYH (Derry Young Hooligans), after clear warnings have been issued".[12] In the event, seven of the innocent victims were teenagers. At the Bloody Sunday inquiry he claimed not to remember having written the memo.[12] Ford relinquished his command on 9 April 1973.[13]
Later career
In 1973, Ford became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and in 1976 he was appointed Military Secretary.[2] He was Adjutant General from 1978[14] to 1981 when he retired from the British Army.[2]
He was ADC General to the Queen from 1980[15] to 1981.[16]
He was awarded the CB in 1973,[17] the KCB in 1977[18] and the GCB in 1981.[19] He was also awarded the MBE in 1958[20] and the CBE in 1971.[21]
Retirement
In retirement he was Chairman of the Army Benevolent Fund from 1981 to 1987.[2] He was also Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1981[22] to 1987.[23] He served as Vice-Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from 1989 to 1993. He died on 24 November 2015.[24]