Robert Ford (British Army officer)
| Sir Robert Ford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 December 1923 |
| Died | 24 November 2015 (aged 91) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1943–1981 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held |
4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 7 Armoured Brigade RMA Sandhurst |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Operation Banner |
| Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
General Sir Robert Cyril Ford GCB CBE (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.
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. He served in North West Europe during World War II and was mentioned in despatches. He was appointed to a permanent commission with the substantive rank of lieutenant on 29 June 1946. He was appointed a lieutenant in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards on 1 February 1947 and was deployed to Palestine the same year, where as a temporary captain he was again mentioned in despatches in 1948. He was promoted to captain on 29 December 1950 and to major on 29 December 1957.
Ford was brevetted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1962 and promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel on 4 February 1966. 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.
On 29 July 1971, at the height of the Troubles, Brigadier Ford was appointed Commander Land Forces, Northern Ireland, with the acting rank of major-general, and was promoted to the substantive rank on 29 August. He was criticised in the Saville Report into the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry for deploying soldiers to arrest rioters: "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."
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