Richard Morgan Llewellyn, (born 22 August 1937) is a retired senior British Army officer. He was general officer commanding, Wales District from 1987 to 1990, and

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

at HQ Land Forces from 1990 to 1991. Upon retirement the army, he was ordained in the Church of England and is currently Welsh Vice-Patron of the War Memorials Trust.

Early life

Llewellyn was born on 22 August 1937, the son of Griffith Robert Poyntz Llewellyn and Bridget Margaret Lester Llewellyn (née Karslake). He spent his early years in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales. From January 1951 to March 1955, he was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. He was a member of Hailey house.

Military career

For his national service, Llewellyn was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 1 December 1956. He was given the service number 450929. He served 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 ...

in 1957, the year of its independence from Britain. He was promoted to lieutenant on 10 August 1958. He moved from the National Service List to the Regular List on 22 August 1958 as a second lieutenant. On the same date he was promoted to lieutenant. He served in Cyprus from late 1958 to early 1959. He was an instructor at the Army Outward Bound School from 1962 to 1963. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 22 August 1964, and to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 31 December 1969. He then attended Staff College in 1970. He was military assistant to the Chief of the General Staff, then General Sir Michael Carver, in 1971 and 1972. From 1974 to 1976, he served as brigade major, the chief of staff, for 39th Infantry Brigade. He was posted to Northern Ireland between 1 February and 30 April 1976. He was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 30 June 1976. He was then 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 ...

of 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers. He commanded the 700 military personnel who replaced

firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

during the 1977 Fire Brigades Union nationwide strike. He was once more posted to Northern Ireland between 1 February and 30 April 1979. He was a member of the directing staff of the Royal College of Defence Studies from late 1979 to 1981. He was promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1981, with seniority from 30 June 1981. Between December 1981 and January 1984, he was commanding officer of the

Gurkha Field Force The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are re ...

, based in Hong Kong. He was posted to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

as Deputy Director of Army Staff Duties from February 1984 to February 1985. He was the last person to hold that appointment. From February 1985 to January 1987, he remained at the MOD as Director of Army Staff Duties. He was the successor of the then Major General Brian Kenny. On 1 December 1987, he was granted the acting rank of major general and appointed general officer commanding, Wales in succession to the then Major General Peter de la Billière. His promotion to major general was confirmed on 23 February 1988, with seniority from 16 October 1986. He relinquished the appointment of GOC Wales on 15 June 1990. From 16 June 1990 to 13 September 1991, he was chief of staff at HQ United Kingdom Land Forces. He held this role during the

First Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. He retired from the British Army on 8 November 1991.

Later life

In 1991, Llewellyn entered

Sarum & Wells Theological College Sarum College is a centre of theological learning in Salisbury, England. The college was established in 1995 and sits within the cathedral close on the north side of Salisbury Cathedral. The Sarum College education programme ranges from sho ...

and spent two years training for ministry in the Church of England. He was ordained as a deacon in 1993, and as a priest in 1994. He was minor canon of Brecon Cathedral, under Bishop Dewi Bridges, from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 2001 or 2014, he was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of the Welsh

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

. From 2001, was director of the ''Christ College Foundation'', the bursaries and school improvements fund of Christ College, Brecon. He retired from the position in 2005. He has been a Vice-Patron of the War Memorials Trust since 2001.

Personal life

Llewellyn married Elizabeth Lamond Sobey in 1964. Together they have had three sons and two daughters. One son, called Glyn, has also served as an officer of the British Army.

Honours and decorations

On 12 October 1976, Llewellyn was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "in recognition of distinguished services in Northern Ireland during the period 1st February - 30th April 1976". He was promoted to

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 o ...

(OBE) on 9 October 1979 "in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland during the period 1st February 1979 to 30th April 1979". In the 1992 New Year Honours, he was appointed

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 caregive ...

(CB). He was appointed

Officer of the Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British British monarchy ...

(OStJ) on 2 February 2011. He was appointed to the

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

position of Colonel of the Gurkha Transport Regiment on 1 February 1984. He was succeeded by the then Brigadier

Philip Trousdell Lieutenant General Sir Philip Charles Cornwallis Trousdell (born 13 August 1948) is a retired senior British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland and Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was command ...

on 27 October 1993. He was appointed Colonel of The Royal Welch Fusiliers on 4 March 1990. His tenure expired on 4 March 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llewellyn, Morgan People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Royal Welch Fusiliers officers 1937 births Living people British Army major generals British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley