General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Alexander George Hamilton Harley, (born 3 May 1941) is a retired

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer and former

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

Military career

Educated at

Caterham School (Truth without Fear) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding school , religious_affiliation = Protestant ( United Reformed Church) , president = , head_label = Headmas ...

, Alexander Harley was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1962. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for services in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

in 1978. He was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

19th Regiment Royal Artillery 19th Regiment Royal Artillery – The Scottish Gunners (until 2012 The Highland Gunners) – is a Scottish regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It currently supports 12 Mechanised Brigade in the armoured field artillery role. T ...

in 1979, Commander of 33rd Armoured Brigade in 1985 and Assistant Chief of Staff Operations for the Northern Army Group in 1988.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He went on to be Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in 1990 and Commander of

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United ...

and Administrator of the

Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory o ...

in 1993. Harley became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) in 1995 and

in 1997 before he retired in August 2000. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1981

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiv ...

in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Retirement

In 2001 he became

Master Gunner, St. James's Park The Master Gunner St James’s Park’s appointment goes back to 1678 and has generally been held by a senior officer in the Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially k ...

, a post he gave up in 2008. In retirement he also became an advisor to

Thales Air Systems Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded h ...

and a vice-president of

Raleigh International Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation based in the UK. On 19 May 2022 Raleigh International Trust ceased operations and entered Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. The Raleigh International brand was bought by Impact Travel Group ...

Family

In 1967 he married Christina Valentine Butler-Cole and they went on to have two sons.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, Alexander 1941 births People educated at Caterham School British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Living people Royal Artillery officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)