Michael Wilkes
Sir Michael Wilkes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 June 1940 |
| Died | 27 October 2013 (aged 73) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
CBE (11 June 1940 – 27 October 2013) was a British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces
from 1993 to 1995.
Early life
The son of an Artillery officer, Michael John Wilkes was born in
Military career
Wilkes was
Majorca to Frankfurt with some 90 passengers and crew was hijacked by terrorists armed with guns and explosives. The Germans asked the SAS for help and Wilkes dispatched a small team to offer advice to GSG 9, Germany's anti-terrorist squad. The aircraft was stormed successfully at Mogadishu, Somalia, and the hostages freed. The operation gave added impetus to the expansion of training and organisation for anti-terrorist tasks by the regiment. Wilkes moved on in 1979, but the decisive intervention by the SAS in the Iranian Embassy siege in May the following year under Michael Rose was evidence of the value of his legacy.[4][5]
Wilkes was appointed an
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1991 New Year Honours and,[10] in 1993, he became Adjutant General.[11] He retired from the British Army in 1995.[12]
Later life
In 1995 Wilkes was named a
Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John and became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey,[13][14] a post he held until 2001. In 2008 he became a Director of Heritage Oil[15] and of Stanley Gibbons.[16] He died on 27 October 2013, leaving a wife, Anne, and two sons.[2][17][18]
References
- ^ The Telegraph – Obituary 3 Nov 2013 – General Sir Michael Wilkes
- ^ a b c d e f Debrett's People of Today 1994
- ^ "No. 42291". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 March 1961. p. 1615.
- ^ The Telegraph -Obituary – General Sir Michael Wilkes
- ^ Pegasus Bridge Fund Archived 11 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 48041". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1979. p. 4.
- ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "No. 51365". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 1988. p. 5.
- ^ "No. 53299". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1993. p. 8194.
- ^ "No. 52382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1990. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 53312". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 May 1993. p. 9062.
- ^ "No. 54153". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 September 1995. p. 12372.
- ^ "No. 54218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 November 1995. p. 15693.
- ^ "No. 54161". The London Gazette. 19 September 1995. p. 12691.
- ^ Heritage Oil Reuters, 28 March 2008
- ^ Stanley Gibbons Group, Reuters.com, 16 January 2008; accessed 18 August 2014.
- ^ Obituary[usurped], thisisjersey.com; accessed 18 August 2014.
- ^ Notice of Wilkes' death, announcements.telegraph.co.uk; accessed 18 August 2014.
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