Sir William Robert Robertson

Sir William Robert Robertson 1860-1933, British field marshal. He enlisted in the army in 1877 and became an officer in 1888. He was in the intelligence department in India (1892-96) and served in a similar capacity in the South African War (1899-1902). In World War I he served in France as quartermaster general of the British army and chief of staff (1915) to Gen. Sir John French. Appointed chief of the imperial general staff in 1915, he came into conflict with David Lloyd George because of his strong advocacy of concentrating forces on the Western Front. He was relieved of this command in 1918. He commanded (1919-20) the British army on the Rhine and was made a baronet (1919) and a field marshal (1920). He was the first British field marshal to come up through the ranks. He is the author of From Private to Field-Marshal (1921) and Soldiers and Statesmen, 1914-1918 (1926).

Bibliography: See biography by V. Bonham-Carter (1964).

Edis, Sir Robert William (1839–1927). English architect. He is best known as a protagonist of the Queen Anne style. His works included houses at 31–3 Tite Street, Chelsea (1879–81), additions to Sandringham House, Norfolk (1891–2), the Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue, London (1884–6), and the Great Central Railway Hotel, Marylebone Station, London (1897–9).

Bibliography

Edis (1973);
Girouard (1977)

Matthew, Sir Robert Hogg (1906–75). A Scot, he was Architect to the LCC (1946–53) and was responsible for the Royal Festival Hall, London (1948–51, with Martin, Moro, Edwin Williams (1896–1976)), and others), as well as for the housing developments of that era. He established Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall, & Partners in 1953, designing the University of York (1963) and many other major projects throughout the United Kingdom, including the University buildings, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry (1970s). The Neo-Vernacular Hillingdon Civic Centre, Uxbridge, near London (1973–8), was a significant change of direction for the firm.

Bibliography

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004);
van Vynckt (ed.) (1993)