Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden DOBBIE
GCMG, KCB, DSO, LLD
(1879-1964)

William George Shedders Dobbie was born at Madras, India on 12 July 1879, the son of WH Dobbie, CIE, an Indian civil servant who became Accountant General of the Madras Presidency. He was educated at Charterhouse School, where he was a classical scholar, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in August 1899.

In 1901 he, with his own horse and his soldier groom (who volunteered to go with him), was sent to South Africa where he saw active service in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and learnt the leadership and technical skills that were to serve him well in his future career.

After his return from South Africa he married Sybil, daughter of Captain Orde-Browne RA in 1904. The marriage ceremony was, for its day, very unconventional; his mother-in-law, a formidable widow with nonconformist proclivities, held the reception at her home in Blackheath, London the day before the event. The bride, was dressed in white satin and afterwards the guests were invited to prayers "for those who wish to attend". The marriage service took place the next day and was held in the Gospel Hall in Bracknell, Surrey. It was conducted by a General Officer, with the Registrar inconspicuously assisting to make it legal. Dobbie wore full dress uniform whilst Sybil, dressed in a blue frock, was given away by her uncle, Sir Benjamin Browne, who as a devout Anglican was mystified by the whole affair. It was followed by a tea party, held at the nearby house of Sir George and Lady Pigot, Dobbie cut the cake with his sword but unfortunately omitted to wipe the Vaseline from the blade. Such was the start of 58 years of unbroken devotion which only ended on Sybil's death in 1962. They had two sons and one daughter, one of their sons, Captain Arthur Dobbie RE was sadly kill in action during the Second World War (1939-45). His daughter, Sybil wrote his biography Faith and Fortitude - The life and work of General Sir William Dobbie, which was published by his grandson, Major PR Johnstone RE in 1979.

After a foreign tour in Bermuda and service in Southern Ireland, Dobbie started to work for entry into the Staff College, Camberley and attended one of the last courses held there before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He went to France with the British Expeditionary Force as adjutant to the CRE of the 4th Division and took part in the retreat to the Marne and the subsequent advance to the Aisne. His later service in the war was entirely on the staff, at Divisional, Corps and Army Headquarters, and finally, in 1918, he became GSO 1st Grade in the Operations Section at GHQ. As a member of Earl Haig's (1861-1928) staff he signed the order which brought hostilities to a close in 1918. He was awarded the DSO, created CMG, and was mentioned five times in dispatches, and received the Legion of Honour.

For the ten years following the war, except for one year with his Corps, Dobbie continued to serve on the General Staff in the Rhine Army, at Aldershot, in the War Office and in Western Command.

In 1928 he was promoted Brigadier to command the Infantry Brigade in Cairo, Egypt. A turning point in his career occurred the following year, when he was called upon to deal with a serious outbreak of racial and religious hostility between the Jews and Arabs in Palestine, arising from the question of access to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. At the time the Palestine garrison was provided by the RAF; but law and order had collapsed, atrocities and riots were rife everywhere, and the situation was out of control. All this occurred during the leave season so the High Commissioner and most of the Senior Officers were at Home. There were few troops within range; Dobbie's brigade was the nearest and thus was ordered to the scene. Dobbie put himself in the first train to Jerusalem in order to take charge of the situation promptly.

Duty in 'Aid of the Civil Power' is always a difficult task. There are no rules to suggest how much force will turn out to be the right amount, and when the troops are thin on the ground and the distances wide the complications are increased. All hinges upon the judgment of the Commander, how he deploys the troops he has and how he tells them to act. Here the full responsibilities rested on the fifty-year-old Dobbie, and he was found fully equal to the occasion by acting with great energy and promptitude. He had the hostile villages surrounded and arrested the ringleaders, such vigorous offensive measures soon restored order. Within three weeks he had handed a pacified Palestine over to an Air-Vice-Marshal, who had the wisdom and the charity to commend Dobbie's handling of a dangerous situation to His Majesty's Government. He became a 'man of mark' overnight and in recognition of his services he was created CB (Companion of the Order of the Bath).

At the start of the operation he prayed for guidance and claimed to have received it from the Lord. He also permitted the Bible Society to distribute New Testaments to his troops and into each Bible Dobbie had a note inserted that read:

"You are stationed at the place where the central event in human history occurred - namely the crucifixion of the Son of God. You may see the place where this happened and you may read the details in this book. As you do this, you cannot help being interested, but your interest will change into something far deeper when you realise the events concern you personally. It was for your sake the Son of God died on the cross here. The realisation of this fact cannot but produce a radical change in one's life - and the study of this book will, under God's guidance, help you to such a realisation".
       W.G.S. Dobbie (Brigadier) 10 Oct 1929.

These actions showed another very important aspect of his character; and that was that he was a member of the Plymouth Brethren and a deeply committed Christian, a faith that had been acquired at an early age. Even at fourteen he had been, in his own words, "called to God's service".

His next appointment, on promotion to Major General in 1932, was as General Officer Commanding (GOC) Chatham Area, a role that also combined the posts of Commandant of the School of Military Engineering (SME) and Inspector Royal Engineers (now the Engineer-in-Chief post). Despite the fact that Dobbie never touched alcohol, never smoked, nor danced, nor played cards for money, nor betted; and he prayed to God regularly several times a day. He was far from being a kill-joy. He had a cheerful smile and a somewhat pawky sense of humour; he was a robust games player and a good horseman; he played the piano and he always entertained hospitably, offering whatever drink good manners required. His wife was vivacious and attractive, as well as being an accomplished hostess, therefore they were both popular and invitations to Flagstaff House were accepted with an anticipation of a good night out.

In 1935 he was appointed GOC, Malaya with the responsibility for strengthening the defences of the Peninsular. To this end Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Arthur Ernest Percival (1887-1966), his Chief Staff Officer, was tasked to draw up a tactical appreciation on where an attack was most likely be directed. Percival's finalised report in the late 1937, confirmed that north Malaya was a strategic position for the conquest of Singapore and Borneo. Both Dobbie and Percival made it clear that Singapore could no longer be seen as a self-contained naval base, and that its survival rested on the defence of mainland Malaya. So in May 1938, Dobbie wrote to the Chief Of Staff: ...It is an attack from the northward that I regard as the greatest potential danger to the Fortress [Singapore]. Such an attack could be carried out in the northeast monsoon.The jungle is not in most places, impassable for infantry... Dobbie further added that an attack might be possible between the months of November and March, despite high winds and waves produced by the northeast monsoon. However, by 1939 Dobbie was 60 years old and under the age rule he was obliged to retire from the active list and in August of that year he returned Home.

The Second World War (1939-45) broke out within a few weeks of his return to London and he found himself in the frustrating position of being unemployed when his country was at war. But that changed one day in April, 1940, when Dobbie was lunching in the United Service Club in London and met, by chance, General Sir Edmund Ironside (1888-1959), Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). Ironside asked Dobbie if he would go to Malta. He replied: "Certainly. In what capacity?" and to Dobbie's astonishment Ironside answered: "As Governor". Ten days later Dobbie arrived in Malta, as its Governor and Commander-in-Chief, a few weeks before the siege began. He took over from General Sir Charles Bonham Carter and he to proved to be the soul of the defence for the next two years.

When the war came to Malta the garrison and the defences were hopelessly inadequate. At the outset Dobbie had only five weak-battalions, 16 obsolescent anti-aircraft guns and four out-of-date fighter aircraft, which were found in cases in the dockyard stores. The problem of defence was further complicated by the size of the civilian population, estimated at 2,700 persons to the square mile, nine tenths of whose food had to be brought in by sea. In the desperate situation following the fall of France in June 1940 there was little that could be spared from the UK to reinforce the Island. The CIGS sent him a telegram that simply stated. "Personal from the C.I.G.S., Deuteronomy Chapter Three, Verse Twenty-Two" (Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you).

Map of Mediterranean Sea showing the location of Malta and Axis and British Forces 1940-43

Dobbie's first act was to issue an 'Order of the Day' invoking divine aid and protection, it read:

"The decision of His Majesty's Government to fight on until our enemies are defeated will have been heard with satisfaction by all ranks of the Garrison of Malta. It may be that hard times lie ahead of us, but however hard they may be, I know that the courage and determination of all ranks will not falter and that with God's help we will maintain the security of this fortress. I therefore call upon all officers and other ranks humbly to seek God's help, and then in reliance upon Him to do their duty unflinchingly".

He then immediately turned his practical mind to the consideration of material difficulties and dangers; the rounding up of fifth columnists, and the digging of air raid shelters (13 miles of tunnelling were excavated in the limestone rock by 173rd Tunnel Company RE, which arrived in Malta in August 1941), the defences of the beaches and aerodromes, and institution of conscription, and a thousand and one other details. His energy and foresight proved invaluable in preparing the community to withstand the cruel ordeal that awaited them.

In July and August, 1941 he fought and fought, up to Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister himself, for the vital convoy which arrived in Malta in October 1941. On three occasions his proposals were rejected (the war with Japan was on the horizon) but his final, personal approach to the Prime Minister led to the convoy which was probably the decisive element in the ability of the fortress to hold out in 1942.

It was not until the early summer of 1942 that the Luftwaffe were finally deprived of command of the air over Malta. By that time the civilian casualties averaged 1 in 70, as a result of some 2,000 air raids. As part of his strategy to maintain morale Dobbie had a microphone on his desk through which he could speak to any town or village in the fortress, and immediately after any bombing attack, he would speak to the people who had suffered most, invariably emphasizing the faith both he and they shared in the Almighty, expressing his sympathy in their suffering, emphasizing again that God was on our side and that right must prevail, and ending with a message that he was on his way to see them. It is to Dobbie's credit and his faith in the Maltese people that martial law was not imposed although the population were suffering great privations as well as malnutrition, the feeding of them had become a critical problem.

It was at this point that Lord Gort (1886-1946) was sent out to relieve Dobbie as Governor. The long strain had worn him down, and the Prime Minister, who described him as a " Governor of outstanding character who inspired all ranks and classes, military and civil, with his...determination...a soldier who ...in...leadership and religious zeal ...recalled memories of General Gordon and...the Ironsides and Covenanters", decided with deep regret that there was nothing for it but to bring him home. The end of his term of office was marked by the award of the George Cross to the Island and, on his arrival in England Dobbie was decorated by the King with the GCMG, the citation referring to "the steadfast and gallant bearing of the garrison and civil population" under his guidance and leadership. He was not bitter at being relieved, but when he went to the War Office to see the Director of Military Operations he remarked, rather wistfully: "I could have stayed perfectly well".

Dobbie's conduct of the siege was a remarkable feat of leadership. Never once did disaffection rear its head. It was his example and his courage that inspired the people of Malta, while his deep and openly-expressed religious faith accorded exactly with their own tradition of piety. His last act of service to his Country had been his greatest. He retired from the service of the Crown to continue the service of his Maker.

After the war Dobbie devoted himself to the London City Mission, an organization of missionaries (mostly ex-Servicemen) engaged on house-to-house evangelism. He retired as the Mission's Chairman in 1956. In 1945 he published a little book entitled A Very Present Help, in which he told the story of his life. The book was designed as "a tribute to the faithfulness of God", and he wrote it in order to encourage others to rely upon the never failing help of God. It is a complete revelation of his own fine character and his mentality. Few who read the book can fail to be moved at the humility with which the author related with touching simplicity his conviction that at every step he received divine guidance. One chapter is a reprint of a pamphlet he had written in 1936, setting out his belief that the profession of arms, in the light of the teaching of the Bible, is an honourable and lawful one.

He wrote another book in 1948, Active Service with Christ. He was a Colonel Commandant RE from 1940-47 and was Bailiff GC of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

The closing stages of his life were sad but serene. He lost his sight and his hearing; but he retained his Faith. His daughter and his daughter-in-law were with him at the end. He was 85 when died at his London home on Saturday night, 3 October 1964. Three days later he was buried at Charlton Cemetery and a Memorial Service was held for him in St Paul's Church, Onslow Square, London on 17 October 1964.

Sources:

Royal Engineers Journal (December 1964)

Royal Engineers Journal (December 1979)

Links to further reading:

Corps History Part 15 - The Corps between the wars (1919-39)

Corps History Part 16 - The Corps and the Second World War (1939-45)