Major-General Bryan Hawkins Dutton, CB,

CBE 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 ...

(born 1 March 1943) is a former British Army officer who served the last Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong, from 1994 to 1997. He was subsequently Director-General of the Leonard Cheshire Foundation from 1998 to 2008; during that period the charity changed its name to Leonard Cheshire Disability.

Early life

The son of Ralph Dutton, by his marriage to Honor Morris, Dutton was educated at Lord Weymouth's Grammar School and Sandhurst.'Dutton, Maj.-Gen. Bryan Hawkins (born 1 March 1943)' in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' (London A. & C. Black)

Military career

Dutton was commissioned into the

Devonshire and Dorset Regiment The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment (11th, 39th and 54th), usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments, the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset ...

in 1963. He served in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, and Germany, as well as postings to

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 ...

and as an Instructor at the School of Infantry from 1969 to 1971. From 1976 to 1978 he was a member of the Commander-in-Chief's Mission to Soviet Forces in Germany (

BRIXMIS The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) was a Military liaison missions, military liaison mission which operated behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. BRIXMIS existed from 1946 � ...

), then for a year was a company commander in the 1st Battalion the Devonshire and Dorsets. In 1979 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 his service in Ireland and in 1990 was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

for his work there. He served on the Planning Staff in the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

from 1979 to 1981, was an Instructor at the Staff College during 1981–1982, and spent two years as Military Assistant to the Adjutant-General (1982–1984) before commanding the 1st Battalion the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment from 1984 to 1987. After some months on the Operations Staff at UK Land Forces, in 1987 he took up the command of the 39th Infantry Brigade for two years. he was Director of Public Relations (Army), from 1990 to 1992, Director of Infantry, 1992 to 1994. In 1994 Dutton became the last Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong before the colony became a

Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of four types of province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government (State Counci ...

Honorary appointments

He was

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

Prince of Wales' Division A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, from 1996 to 1999, and Colonel of the

from 1998 to 2002.

Civilian life

In 1972 Dutton married Angela Margaret Wilson, and they had one son and one daughter. In retirement he was Director-General of the

Leonard Cheshire Disability Leonard Cheshire is a major health and welfare charity working in the United Kingdom and running development projects around the world. It was founded in 1948 by Royal Air Force officer Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC. Leonard Cheshire's a ...

care charity from 1998 (when it was called the Leonard Cheshire Foundation) to 2008,I work for ... Bryan Dutton, director-general of Leonard Cheshire
''The Independent'', 3 June 1998 and simultaneously Chairman of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group from 2004 to 2008. He has served as a Governor of the Hayes Dashwood Foundation since 1999 and as Chairman of the Association for Research into Stammering in Childhood since 2009.

References

External links

A photograph of him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Bryan 1943 births Living people British Army major generals Commanders of Hong Kong Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Devonshire and Dorset Regiment officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) British charity and campaign group workers People educated at Lord Weymouth's Grammar School