Michael Hobbs (British Army officer) explained

Honorific Prefix:Sir
Michael Hobbs
Birth Date:28 February 1937
Branch: British Army
Serviceyears:1956-1988
Rank:Major-General
Servicenumber:447271
Commands:39th Infantry Brigade
4th Armoured Division
Awards:Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Dispatches

Major General Sir Michael Frederick Hobbs (born 28 February 1937) is a former commander in the British Army who was later a charity director and Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor.

Military career

Educated at Eton College, Hobbs was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards on 14 April 1956 as a second lieutenant to fulfil his national service obligation. He was promoted to lieutenant on 28 February 1958 and was removed from the national service list. On 28 February 1964, he was promoted to captain, and to major on 31 December 1969. He served on the Directing Staff of Staff College, Camberley between 1974 and 1977. In 1979, during The Troubles, he was posted to Northern Ireland.

On 30 June 1980, Hobbs was promoted to colonel, and to brigadier on 31 December 1981. He was appointed Commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade in 1982. He was posted again to Northern Ireland in 1983 as part of the Staff. He was appointed Director of Army Public Relations at the Ministry of Defence and served there from January 1984 to July 1985.[1] He was General Officer Commanding 4th Armoured Division between December 1985 and November 1987. On 29 March 1986, he was promoted to major-general with seniority from 22 June 1984.

Hobbs retired on 23 February 1988.

Later life

Sir Michael has also held the positions of both Director of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award between 1988 and 1998 and a Director of the Outward Bound Trust since 1995.[2] He is a director of the London Law Trust, a grant making charitable trust, and has served as the Deputy Chairman of the Development Committee of the College of St. George.[3]

Sir Michael became the Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor in 2000 and retired from this post in July 2012.[4]

Awards and decorations

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) 13 June 1998
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 12 June 1982
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 9 October 1979
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) 15 June 1974
15 April 1994
With 'Northern Ireland' clasp, (MID) 1983
1977
2002
2012

Personal life

Hobbs is married to Tessa.[5] Lady Hobbs is an internationally renowned garden designer. In 2000, his son William Hobbs was jailed for killing a cyclist whilst drink-driving. The 21-year-old was sentenced to four and a half years.[6]

Hobb's grandmother was a lady in waiting to Queen Mary wife of George V.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mackie . Colin . SENIOR ARMY APPOINTMENTS . gulabin.com . 8 May 2012 . March 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf . 5 July 2015 .
  2. News: Ed. Douglas. 21 April 2007. Soaring spirit of adventure . The Telegraph.
  3. News: 12 March 2009. Court Circular: Mar 12. The Times.
  4. Web site: Windsor described by Sir Michael Hobbs in New York . ACTIVITIES 2005 . THE COLLEGE OF ARMS FOUNDATION, INC. . 8 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620182117/http://www.coaf.us/activities05.html . 20 June 2012 .
  5. News: The parents of a trainee teacher killed by drink-drive Oxford student William Hobbs publicly forgave. 8 May 2012. Oxford Mail. 5 February 2000.
  6. Web site: Johnstone. Helen. Drunk son of Duke's friend is jailed for death of cyclist. Electronic Telegraph. 8 May 2012.
  7. Web site: Strong. Nancy. Dinner at Windsor Castle With Prince William. Luxury Travel Advisor. 8 May 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20120903143825/http://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/sightings/dinner-windsor-castle-with-prince-william. 3 September 2012.