Major General Seymour Hector Russell Hale Monro (born 7 May 1950) is a former officer in 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 ...

and current

Lord Lieutenant of Moray This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Moray, Scotland. Until 1928 the office was known as Lord Lieutenant of the County of Elgin. Lord Lieutenants of Elginshire * Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray 17 March 1794 – 28 ...

Early life and education

Monro was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland on 7 May 1950. He is the eldest son of

Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm Hector Seymour Peter Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, AE, PC (4 October 1922 – 30 August 2006), was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire for over 32 years, from 1964 to 1997, an ...

, a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician, and his wife Anne. He was educated at

Cargilfield Preparatory School Cargilfield Preparatory School is a Scottish private co-educational boarding and prep school in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Cargilfield was founded in 1873 by Rev Daniel Charles Darnell an Episcopalian and former master at Rugby School and w ...

and

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

, both

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

in Scotland.

Career

Military service

He was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Highlanders The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), officially abbreviated "QO HLDRS," was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. It was in existence from 1961 to 1994. History 1961–1970 The regiment was ...

in 1970 from RMA Sandhurst and was awarded the Sword of Honour. He commanded the 1st Battalion Queens Own Highlanders in Belfast and in the First Gulf War. Subsequently, he commanded the 39 Infantry Brigade in Belfast and later was the United Kingdom's Director of Infantry. His last military appointment was as Deputy Commander of the

NATO Rapid Deployable Corps The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the v ...

, in Italy.

Business career

Monro later became Executive Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and Adjutant of The Queen's Body Guard for Scotland and later Chairman of the Highlanders’ Museum at Fort George where he was responsible for its £2.75 million upgrade project. He has also been Chairman of the

Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are unempl ...

in the Highlands and of the Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Fisheries’ trust. He served on the board of Cairngorm Mountain Ltd. He was instrumental in establishing The Highland Military Tattoo at Fort George in 2014 and was its Executive Chairman and Tattoo Director until it ceased in 2017. He was also Honorary Air Commodore of 2622 (Highland) Squadron The Royal Auxiliary Air Force at

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...

from 2008 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of the Northern Meeting Piping Trust. He is also Honorary President of Forres and District Pipe Band, of the Forres Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland, of Forres in Bloom and of the Brisbane Observatory Trust in Largs. He is also Chairman (Designate) of the Leanchoil Trust which will turn the former cottage hospital in Forres into a Veterans’ Activity Centre and a local community health and wellbeing hub.

Honours

Monro is appointed Lord-Lieutenant for Moray to succeed Lieutenant Colonel Grenville Johnston, who retired on 28 January 2020. He 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 ...

(CBE) in 1996, and was appointed

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(LVO) in 2010.

Medal bar

UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen EII Platinum Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK King Charles III Coronation Medal BAR

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Seymour 1950 births Living people People educated at Cargilfield School People educated at Glenalmond College Lord-lieutenants of Moray Queen's Own Highlanders officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Sons of life peers British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Gulf War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel from Edinburgh Members of the Royal Company of Archers 21st-century British Army personnel British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)