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 Roger Neil Wheeler, (born 16 December 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 who served as
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan)
* Chief of the General Staff (Albania)
* C ...
from 1997 to 2000. During his career he was involved in the
Cyprus Emergency
The Cyprus Emergency was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959.
The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), a Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisation, began an armed campaign in s ...
, directed military operations 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 ...
and led the UK's forces deployed on
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
operations in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
. He is now a non-executive director of several businesses operating on an international basis.
Early life
Wheeler was born in
Eton on 16 December 1941 and is the son of Major General
Norman Wheeler. He was educated at
Allhallows College in
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
['']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 ...
2010'', A & C Black
A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...
, 2010, and
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...
, which he joined in 1961.
Army career
Wheeler was commissioned as a
second lieutenant (on probation) on the General List of the Territorial Army on 13 December 1963 and, following his graduation from University, promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal ...
on 14 July 1964. He spent his early military service in
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
and in the Middle East.
[ He was promoted to ]captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on 22 December 1967 and to major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
on 31 December 1973 and served as a brigade major during the Cyprus Emergency
The Cyprus Emergency was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959.
The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), a Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisation, began an armed campaign in s ...
in 1974.[ After serving on Lord Carver's staff during the ]Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
talks in 1977,[ he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1978. He became commanding officer of 2nd ]Royal Irish Rangers
The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular light infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal ...
in 1979 and led his battalion in 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 ...
, Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, Berlin and Canada.[ He was then Chief of Staff in the ]Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
from June to December 1982 immediately following the Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
.[
Having been promoted to full ]colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
on 30 June 1982, 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 ...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 1983 and promoted to brigadier
Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
on 31 December 1984, Wheeler went on to be commander of 11 Armoured Brigade in 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 ...
in 1985.[ After that he went to the ]Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
in 1987 as Director of Army Plans.[ Following his appointment as ]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 ...
1st Armoured Division in Germany in August 1989, he was given the substantive rank of major general on 30 September 1989. He became Assistant Chief of the General Staff on 30 November 1990 and, after being appointed a Knight Commander 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 ...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 1993, he was made General Officer Commanding and Director of Military Operations 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 ...
on 25 January 1993 with his promotion to the rank of 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 norma ...
becoming substantive on 1 March 1993. During his tour as Director of Military Operations the first cessation of terrorist operations took place and Wheeler initiated the reduction in the British military presence in Northern Ireland by three battalions over the course of the next two years.
Wheeler was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Land Command
Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces (CINCLAND), was a senior officer in the British Army. CINCLAND commanded Commander Land Forces, HQ Land Forces, an administrative apparatus that had responsibility for all of the army's fighting units in the United ...
in the rank of 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 ...
on 12 March 1996 and, having been appointed ADC General to the Queen on 6 December 1996 and advanced to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...
in the New Year Honours List 1997, made Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan)
* Chief of the General Staff (Albania)
* C ...
(CGS) on 3 February 1997. As CGS, he was responsible for implementing the Strategic Defence Review after the new Labour Government came to power as well as providing strategic military advice to the British Government on the deployment of troops for the Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
and in connection with the formation of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an int ...
before he retired from the 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 ...
in 2000.[
Wheeler served as Deputy Colonel of the Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th) from 1 June 1987, as Colonel of The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th) from 27 August 1990 and then as Deputy Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment, (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) from 1 July 1992. He also served as Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps from 18 October 1995, Honorary Colonel ]Queen's University Officers' Training Corps
The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...
from 23 December 1999 and Honorary Colonel of Oxford University Officers' Training Corps from 10 March 2000. In additional he was Deputy Honorary Colonel of The London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army:
* London Regiment (1908–1938)
The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). Th ...
from 17 March 2000.
Later career
Wheeler became Constable of the Tower
The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...
of London in 2001. In retirement, he became a Non-Executive Director of Thales plc, a Non-Executive Director of Aegis Defence Services
Aegis Defence Services is a British private military and private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, w ...
and, until 2009, a member of the governing board of the Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship, e ...
as well as President of Combat Stress, the mental welfare society for ex-servicemen.[ In October 2009 he was appointed advisor on military matters, to the British Government's inquiry into the Iraq war (headed by ]Sir John Chilcot
Sir John Anthony Chilcot (; 22 April 1939 – 3 October 2021) was a British Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant.
In 2009, Chilcot was appointed chairman of the Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as the "Chilcot Inquiry"), an inquiry into ...
). He is also an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...
, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, a Patron of the Police
Foundation, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers
The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of painters of metals and wood is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked on ...
.[
Wheeler has also played cricket for the Stragglers of Asia CC, one of the oldest wandering cricket clubs in the UK. His interests include ]fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
, cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...
and ornithology
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
.[
]
Family
In 1980 Wheeler married Felicity Hares; they have three sons, including Simon Wheeler, and one daughter by a former marriage.[ His daughter-in-law is British actress ]Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy dr ...
via her marriage to Wheeler's son Simon.
Wheeler is the nephew of Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Roger
1941 births
Living people
Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
British Army generals
Royal Ulster Rifles officers
Royal Irish Rangers officers
British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Chiefs of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
Constables of the Tower of London
People from Eton, Berkshire
Military personnel from Berkshire
British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency
Military personnel of the Kosovo War
Military personnel of the Bosnian War