Chief of the General Staff - Major General RG Williams CB MBE
Reason for the name
Major General Robin Guy Williams CB MBE OStJ (14 August 1930 – 4 February 2023) served as Chief of the General Staff New Zealand Army from 1981 to 1984.
Major General 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, in Camberley, in 1963, the Joint Services Staff College in Canberra in 1972, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1976.
He served with 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment and later with the 2nd Battalion New Zealand Regiment (2 NZ Regt) during the Malayan Emergency based in Taiping, Malaya.
He was Commanding Officer 1st Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (1 RNZIR) during 1968-1970.
Between 1977 and 1979, he served as Commander Field Force. He was Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations / Plans) at HQ NZDF from 1979 to 1980 and Deputy Chief of the General Staff in 1981.
He was Chief of General Staff from November 1981 to December 1984, when he retired from the Army.
Early life and family
Born in Wellington on 14 August 1930, General Williams was the son of John Upham Williams and Margaret Joan Williams (née Mayfield). Both of his parents were medical doctors. He was educated at Nelson College from 1943 to 1948.
In 1953, he married Jill Rollo Tyrie, and the couple went on to have three children.
Sport
General Williams was a skilled rugby union player. He 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.
Post-Army
After retiring from the Army, Williams was the deputy chair of Operation Raleigh New Zealand, a global charity where young people were encouraged to volunteer for international service, 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.
Major General Williams died peacefully on 4 February 2023, aged 92 years. His military funeral service was held on Tuesday 21 February. His pallbearers were ex-commanding officers of 1 RNZIR and 2/1 RNZIR and the bearers were warrant officers class 1 RNZIR.
Honours and Awards
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB)
Officer of the Order of St John (OStJ)
Authors:
NZ Poppy Places Trust
Wikipedia (see References)
