General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 Caterham School is a private co-educational day and boarding school located in Caterham, Surrey and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History Caterham School was founded as the Congregational School in 1811 in Lewi ...

, 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) 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 of t ...

for services in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1978. He was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...

of 19th Regiment Royal Artillery 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), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1981

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

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 caregi ...

in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Retirement

In 2001 he became Master Gunner, St. James's Park, a post he gave up in 2008. In retirement he also became an advisor to Thales Air Systems and a vice-president of

Raleigh International Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation based in the UK. Raleigh runs overseas Expeditions for young people to work together on community, environmental and conservation projects around the world. The young people who participat ...

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)