 to the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe took him to Oslo. He made frequent visits to military bases across Europe, the most important of which was to take part in the annual exercises of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium. In the north of Norway, Sinnatt acquired the only wound of his military service when, after a lengthy formal dinner, his sleigh, pulled by a racing reindeer, crashed. He was badly cut above the eye and had to rely on the beast's local knowledge to get home. After returning to 3 RTR, then at Fallingbostel, Lower Saxony, and equipped with Centurion tanks, he led the advance party to Tidworth, Wiltshire, where the regiment converted to armoured cars. From 1969 to 1971, he commanded 4 RTR at Hohne, West Germany. The regiment was equipped with the new Chieftain tank but the multi-fuel engine was liable to break down, and on his first exercise Sinnatt lost a third of his tank strength soon after leaving barracks. On a divisional training exercise, the regiment was tasked with carrying out a night-assault river crossing. Heavy rain threatened to turn the event into a shambles, but Sinnatt drove to the river bank and dealt firmly with the problem: as chastened officers scurried back to their commands, out of the darkness emerged delighted divisional and brigade commanders. Sinnatt enhanced his reputation for a robust approach to puffed-up individuals and overstated difficulties. A stint on the directing staff of the National Defence College was followed by promotion to brigadier as Commander RAC at 1st British Corps, Bielefeld, West Germany. He was responsible for the effectiveness of RAC training and supervised the introduction of a series of reconnaissance vehicles. In 1974, he moved to the MoD as the armoured lead in the Operational Directorate, where he managed the design and development of a wide range of armoured vehicles, helicopter){kind=link}
On top of enemy shells, Sinnatt and his men had to suffer the Korean winter: their milk at breakfast had to be sliced with a knife
Major General Martin Sinnatt, who has died aged 94, saw action in the Korean War and was subsequently the director of Combat Development at the Ministry of Defence.
Advanced units of 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1 RTR) arrived in Korea in September 1952 and the regiment was in the country until the following November. Sinnatt, serving with B Squadron, commanded a troop of Centurion tanks.
Based at the Hook, a ridge of great strategic value above a tributary of the Imjin River, the regiment was supporting the 29th British Infantry Brigade and was closely integrated into the infantry defence plan.
The task of the squadrons was, by day, to harass the Chinese units – destroying command posts and defence works – and to prevent all forms of movement in the daylight. By night, they were to fire, according to a pre-arranged programme, in front of the infantry positions and in support of the infantry’s fighting patrols.