Collection SIMPKIN - SIMPKIN, Brig Richard Evelyn (1921-1986)

Born in 1921; educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Cambridge; joined Royal Tank Regt, 1940; served in Western Desert, 1941-1942; wounded and taken prisoner at Tobruk, 1942; escaped to Italy, but recaptured and confined to POW camp in Germany; worked on industrial, technical and economic intelligence in Germany, 1946-1948; graduated from Staff College, 1951, and from Royal Military College of Science, 1953; served on directing staff of Staff College and Royal Military College of Science, 1957-1959; General Staff Officer Grade 1, Equipment Branch, Royal Armoured Corps Directorate, 1960-1963; Officer Commanding 1 Royal Tank Regt, 1963; Military Director of Studies (Weapons and Vehicles), Royal Military College of Science; Brig, 1968; Director, Operational Requirements 3 (Army), Ministry of Defence, 1968-1971; retired from Army, 1971, and developed career as language consultant and translator; publication of Tank warfare, an analysis of Soviet and NATO tank philosophy (Brassey's defence, London, 1979), Mechanised infantry (Brassey's, Oxford, 1980), Anti-tank, an air mechanised response to armoured threats in the Nineties (1982), Human factors in mechanised warfare (1983), Red armour, an examination of Soviet mobile force concept (Brassey's, Oxford, 1984); Race to the swift, thoughts on twenty-first century warfare (Brassey's Defence, London, 1985) and Deep battle, the brain child of Marshall Tukhachevskii (with John Erickson) (Brassey's Defence, London, 1987); died in 1986.