Robin George Greenham

Obituary for Robin George Greenham

Robin was born and schooled in Ipswich, and as a Suffolk lad, it was not unexpected that he joined the local Royal Anglian Regiment. And he had a remarkable military career. A gentle giant of a man – physically and metaphorically; he was affectionately nick-named “Boots” by his boys, as his huge feet demanded boots that were not available from the quartermaster’s stores.

There were three main themes to Robin’s military career. The first was to do with his love of and competency in languages. In September 1969, as a senior lieutenant, his interest in languages found him awarded a place on the long Russian Course at the Army School of Languages in Beaconsfield. His success there set his military career on its unique course. But he was not just a fluent Russian speaker, he was also fluent in French and, of course, German. And it was not unknown for him to lapse into a Suffolk drawl.

His first posting to employ his Russian language was as a Captain to the British Military Mission in Berlin – known as BRIXMIS. It was 1973 and at the height of the Cold War – during which he was a tour officer espying the activities and training of the group of Soviet Forces in the German Democratic Republic. In this environment Robin was perceptive, proactive, cool, resolute, professional and efficient, and produced consistently excellent results as well has having some pretty exciting moments.

His outstanding success at this early stage resulted in him being chosen to return to the same organisation from 1989 to 1991 as a Lieutenant Colonel. He described this as the most fascinating posting of all, enabling him to witness the events leading up to the collapse of the GDR regime and subsequent German reunification from both sides of the Berlin Wall as it came down. He became widely known throughout the German, French and Russian elements of the Berlin military community who liked and respected him.

Having had such unique experience of the Soviets, Robin was the ideal candidate to become the Military Attaché in Moscow in 1996 during the latter days of Yeltsin’s presidency. He was also accredited as the Defence attaché to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, a considerable portfolio. He was viewed by his ambassador as a highly productive officer with a dynamic modus operandi. While there he organised a unique charity concert, with the support of the international business community and the Mayor of Moscow, raising $100,000 for Russian military orphans. The second theme to his career was more conventional. Unlike many of his generation he served in all three regular battalions; in Aden with the 3rd Battalion earning the Aden Medal, with the 1st Battalion in Germany and the UK and with the 2nd Battalion in Germany – including Berlin – and the usual several sorties to Northern Ireland during the troubles.

At company level, much of it in Northern Ireland, he and Barbara were a strong team, with Barbara taking a deep interest in the welfare of the families.

He attended staff college and had two staff postings; one in the Military Operations branch of the MoD where his boss said he had a particular genius for detail and accuracy and one as Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Northern Army Group based at Rheindahlen in Germany, where his linguistic skills paid particular dividends. These latter two posts were reserved for officers who were among the top students at the Staff College.

Robin’s final time at Regimental duty was from 1985 to 1987 during the Cold War, when he commanded the 5th Battalion of the Regiment. This was a reinforcing battalion for NATO, should it be required, and he trained and exercised it both in the UK and Germany. He took great interest in and developed the Regimental Band and established two companies of the then new Home Service Force. His tireless and meticulous leadership produced a battalion with high standards and high morale.

The third theme of his career was related to his second home country, Germany. This was at the latter end of his service. He was, as a Lieutenant Colonel, a member of the directing staff and UK Liaison Officer at the German Armed Forces Staff College in Hamburg teaching German officers their trade. The Commandant felt that Robin stood out from his fellow instructors and did a great deal to improve the support provided to UK students. This was followed by 3 years as the Senior British Liaison Officer at the German Army Office in Cologne. He was the first in the post and had to set it up. Here he coordinated British Army co-operation with the German Forces and represented the UK at professional gatherings.

In 1998, he left the army and joined the British Forces Liaison Organisation as a civil servant, establishing a new office in Berlin, with responsibilities for dealing with the local authorities concerning the stationing and activities of British Forces Germany. On retirement from there in 2003, he developed his special interest in military history and conducted battlefield tours, specialising in the Battle for Berlin from the Oder to the Reichstag in 1945 and in the Cold War period in Berlin. He also lectured on those and similar topics.

Alongside his military career, his love of tennis continued throughout his life. In 1982 he won the men’s singles in the Northern Ireland Military Championships. He qualified as a Lawn Tennis Association intermediate coach, organised tennis coaching courses and was the founder, and later Chairman, of the British Berlin Tennis Club.

Overarching his career and sports, by far the most important to him, was Robin’s love for his family and family life. He seemed to have the extraordinary ability to balance the demands of his jobs with his family life. He had been an only son and family was very important to him. He kept the family home in Ipswich, although, latterly, he lived mostly in Berlin. He married Barbara in 1975 and she loyally followed the flag, providing Robin with the happiest of homes in what must have been, at the start, a pretty strange environment for her. Robin and Barbara were very gracious and welcoming hosts to the single younger officers under his command wherever they were. The arrival of Georgina while Robin and Barbara were in Rheindahlen and then Marie-Louise when they were in Berlin some 3 years later was a delight for them both. Latterly Robin was repaying Barbara’s love and support by running things at home while Barbara was being a headmistress of a school in Berlin.

Robin was a kind and thoughtful man with a generosity of spirit. He was a professionally brilliant and perceptive man. He was a man of intensity and integrity and a loyal and dependable friend. He loved family and as a family man he was a devoted father and a loving husband.