Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Sir John Norman Stewart Arthur, KCB, CVO (6 March 1931 – 18 December 2023) was the General Officer Commanding in Scotland.

Military career

Educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Arthur was commissioned into the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

in 1951.Debrett's People of Today 1994 At the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

he was part of the British equestrian team for the three-day event; he withdrew after the cross-country phase. Arthur 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 the

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...

in 1972 and

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 service 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 1974 during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. He became

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of 7th Armoured Brigade in 1976. Arthur went on to be

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

3rd Armoured Division in 1980 and Director of Personal Services (Army) in 1983. He was given the colonelcy of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in 1984, a position he held until 1998. He was appointed General Officer Commanding Scotland and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1985; he retired in 1988. In 1996 he became

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright,

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

and

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

Region, and held this post until succeeded by Malcolm Ross in March 2006.

Personal life and death

In 1960 he married Theresa Mary Hopkinson; they went on to have two sons (one of whom died) and a daughter. He married again in 2012 to Jillian Andrews. Arthur died on 18 December 2023, at the age of 92.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Norman 1931 births 2023 deaths People educated at Eton College Royal Scots Greys officers Royal Scots Dragoon Guards officers British Army lieutenant generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order British event riders Olympic equestrians for Great Britain British male equestrians Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Lord-lieutenants of Kirkcudbright British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)