Major General Michael John Hatley Walsh, (10 June 1927 – 13 October 2015) was a

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. He was the

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...

's Chief Scout from 1982 to 1988.

Education

Walsh was born on 10 June 1927 in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. He was educated at two independent schools: at

Clifton House School Clifton House School was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boys' preparatory school (United Kingdom), preparatory school which operated in Harrogate, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, between 1898 and 1968. It was founded in C ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, and was a member of the local

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Troop. He attained the King's Scout Award with the added distinction of Gold Cords, indicating it as the highest award available in Scouting at the time.

Military career

Walsh joined the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

as a rifleman in 1944 and was commissioned in 1945. He spent the winter of 1945–46 in northern Italy guarding against incursion by

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

's partisans. After instructing at the Small Arms School and the Jungle Warfare School in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, he was seconded to the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (known as "3 Para") and went with it to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 1956 as a company commander, where he took part in operations against

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

insurgents. In November 1956, the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

had come to a head and 3 Para was tasked with capturing El Gamil airfield close to

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

– part of Operation Musketeer. This was the first and last British operational parachute assault since the Second World War. Despite fierce opposition including tanks, the airfield was captured in 30 minutes. After various staff and training appointments, he returned to the role of company commander with 3 Para to take part in the 1964 campaign in the Radfan Mountains in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. After promotion to lieutenant colonel, he took command of 1 Para on an emergency tour to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

in January 1967. The battalion was responsible for "Area North" for seven months and were the last British battalion to withdraw. Walsh was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for various actions in June. The citation reads: "By his outstanding devotion to duty, personal bravery and exceptional powers of command, Lieutenant-Colonel Walsh contained the situation at

Sheikh Othman Sheikh Othman () is a district of the Aden Governorate, Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 105,248 inhabitants. History Sheikh Othman derives its name from a religious shrine for Sheikh Othman Al-Zubairi Al-Wahki. The shrine is ...

whilst never departing from the principle of minimum force." Walsh then held staff appointments with

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

(BAOR) and the 28th ANZUK Infantry Brigade in Singapore. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence in 1973. Following promotion to major general he took command of 3rd Armoured Division in 1976 and was then appointed Director of Army Training in 1978, retiring in 1981.

Retirement years

Walsh was Knight President of the London-based

Society of Knights of the Round Table The Honourable Society of Knights of the Round Table, also known as The Knights of the Round Table Club, is a British society which exists to perpetuate the name and fame of King Arthur and the ideals for which he stood. It meets at the Lansdow ...

from 1988 until 1995, the Director of Overseas Relations for

St. John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunte ...

from 1989 until 1995, and Vice President of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). He died on 13 October 2015.

Awards

* 1968

(DSO) * 1980

Companions of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) * 1986

Commander of the Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

(CStJ) * 1993

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there un ...

(KStJ) * 1996

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 ...

(CBE) * Deputy lieutenant of Greater London

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Michael J.H. 1927 births 2015 deaths People from Harrogate People educated at Sedbergh School Chief Scouts (The Scout Association) King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British Army major generals Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Knights of the Order of St John British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers British Parachute Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from North Yorkshire