Robert Cottrell-Hill

British Army general (1903–1965)

Robert Charles Cottrell-Hill
BornRobert Charles Hill
7 November 1903
Khadki, Maharashtra, India
Died10 November 1965 (aged 62)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1924–1959
RankMajor-General
Service number28274
UnitBorder Regiment
Commands71st Indian Infantry Brigade
British Forces in Berlin
Battles/warsArab revolt in Palestine
World War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
& Bar
Military Cross
Mentioned in dispatches

Major-General Robert Charles Cottrell-Hill CB CBE DSO* MC (born Robert Charles Hill; 7 November 1903 – 10 November 1965) was Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.

Military career

Educated at Bedford School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[1] Cottrell-Hill was commissioned into the Border Regiment in 1924.[2] He served with the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for bravery at El Yamun near Jenin in Palestine, during the Arab revolt, in 1938,[1] and was later mentioned in dispatches for his services there.[3]

He served in World War II initially as a brigade major[1] and latterly as Commander of the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade.[4] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for services in Arakan in 1944 and a Bar to his DSO for an assault landing at Ramree Island, located off the coast of Arakan, in 1945.[5]

In 1948 he became Deputy Director of Infantry at the War Office and in 1950 he was made Chief of Staff at Malaya Command.[2] He returned the War Office as Director of Military Training in 1953 and became Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin in 1955.[2] He joined the Regular Commissions Board in 1957 and retired in 1959.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c DNW Medals
  2. ^ a b c d Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. ^ "No. 34582". The London Gazette. 23 December 1938. p. 8177.
  4. ^ Generals.dk
  5. ^ Axis History Forum
  • Generals of World War II
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir William Oliver
Commandant, British Sector in Berlin
1955–1956
Succeeded by
  • v
  • t
  • e
Commandants of Berlin Sectors
American sector
The occupied sectors of Berlin
British sector
French sector
  • Geoffroi du Bois de Beauchesne (1945–46)
  • Charles Lançon (1946)
  • Jean Ganeval [fr] (1946–50)
  • Pierre Carolet (1950–52)
  • Pierre Manceaux-Démiau (1953–54)
  • Amédée J.B. Gèze (1955–58)
  • Jean Lacomme (1958–62)
  • Edouard K. Toulouse (1962–64)
  • François Binoche [fr] (1964–67)
  • Bertrand Huchet de Quénétain [fr] (1967–70)
  • Maurice Routier (1970–73)
  • Camille Metzler (1973–75)
  • Jacques Mangin (1975–77)
  • Bernard d'Astorg [fr] (1977–80)
  • Jean P. Liron (1980–84)
  • Olivier Le Taillendier de Gabory (1984–85)
  • Paul Cavarrot (1985–87)
  • François Cann [fr] (1987–90)
Soviet sector
Soviet Commandants
  • Nikolai Berzarin (1945)
  • Alexander Gorbatov (1945)§
  • Dmitry Smirnov [ru] (1945–46)
  • Aleksandr Kotikov [ru] (1946–50)
  • Sergey Dengin (1950–53)
  • Pyotr Dibrova [ru] (1953–56)
  • Andrey Chamov (1956–58)
  • Matvei Zakharov (1958–61)
  • Andrey Soloviev (1961–62)
East German Commandants
  • Helmut Poppe [de] (1962–71)
  • Arthur Kunath [de] (1971–78)
  • Karl-Heinz Drews [de] (1978–89)
  • Wolfgang Dombrowski [de] (1990)
  • Detlef Wendorf (1990)