Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour
General Sir Robert George Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour, KCB, CBE, DSO, MC, DL (15 September 1913 – 28 December 1994) was a senior officer in the British Army. Early lifeRobert George Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour was born on 15 September 1913 at Knightsbridge, London. He was the son of Robert Shekelton Balfour and Mabel Iris FitzGeorge.[1] After his father's death in 1942, his mother married, in 1945, Russian émigré, Prince Vladimir Galitzine, former aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, commander in chief of the Imperial Russian Army.[2] Through his maternal grandfather, Colonel George FitzGeorge, he was a direct descendant from King George III through the King's grandson, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, and his mistress Sarah Fairbrother.[3] In 1922, his name was legally changed to Victor FitzGeorge-Balfour by deed poll.[4] FitzGeorge-Balfour was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge.[5] Military careerFitzGeorge-Balfour was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards' Supplementary Reserve of Officers on 25 June 1932.[6] He transferred to the regular Coldstream Guards on 1 February 1934,[7] and was promoted to lieutenant on 25 June 1935.[8] He served in Palestine during the Arab revolt, for which he was awarded the Military Cross in 1939. FitzGeorge-Balfour fought in the Second World War, serving in North Africa, Sicily and North-West Europe as a staff officer with XXX Corps.[5] By March 1941, he was a temporary captain.[9] He was made a substantive captain on 1 February 1942,[10] and was a temporary major by October 1943.[11] That same month, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East".[11] He served on the general staff of VIII Corps in 1944 and,[12] by 1945, he was a temporary brigadier.[13] He ended the war as a war substantive lieutenant colonel,[14] and was advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 11 October 1945 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North-West Europe".[13] He had been Mentioned in Despatches twice during the war: on 1 April 1941, "for distinguished services in the Middle East during the period August 1939 to November 1940",[9] and on 23 March 1944 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Sicily".[15] Having reverted to the rank of captain following the end of the war, FitzGeorge-Balfour was promoted to major on 1 February 1947.[14] In 1948, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards in Malaya.[12] For his command of the battalion during the Malayan Emergency, he was Mentioned in Despatches on 13 December 1949 and awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 18 September 1950.[16][17] FitzGeorge-Balfour was promoted to colonel on 15 September 1954 with seniority from 17 June.[18] The following year, he attended the Imperial Defence College.[19] He was made commander of the First Brigade of Guards in 1958, Deputy Director of Staff Duties in 1960, and Chief of Staff at Southern Command in 1962.[5] He went on to be Director of Military Operations in 1964, Senior Army Instructor at the Imperial Defence College in 1967 and Vice Chief of the General Staff in 1968.[12] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath that same year. His last appointment was as UK Military Representative to NATO before he retired in 1974.[20] Later lifeFitzGeorge-Balfour was Chairman of the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases from 1975 to 1989.[19] He was appointed Colonel Commandant of The Honourable Artillery Company, a Territorial Army unit, on 2 August 1976.[21] His tenure expired on 1 September 1984, when he was succeeded by General Sir Richard Trant.[22] He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of West Sussex in 1977.[4] Personal lifeFitzGeorge-Balfour married Mary Diana Christian (1914–1994), daughter of Adm. Arthur Christian and Geraldine Diana Monsell, at the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace on 4 December 1943.[5] Together they had two children:[2]
FitzGeorge-Balfour died on 28 December 1994 at West Chiltington, West Sussex. He was buried on 4 January 1995 at Findon Crematorium, Worthing, West Sussex.[20] Ancestry
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