Bill Mott (British Army soldier)

Garrison Sergeant Major William Daran Gillduff Mott is one of the most senior warrant officers in the British Army. He is responsible for organising state occasions such as Trooping the Colour.

Mott was brought up in Overpool, Cheshire, before enlisting into the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards in April 1979. He saw operational tours in Northern Ireland and during the Falklands War in 1982. He served at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a colour sergeant, company sergeant major, and regimental sergeant major, before becoming Garrison Sergeant Major (GSM) at HQ Northern Ireland. He became GSM HQ London District in late 2002 and oversaw his first Trooping the Colour parade as GSM in June 2003. He has since been in charge of organising, choreographing and overseeing all major state ceremonial occasions. Mott was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 Birthday Honours. In the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Honours he was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order for his personal service to the monarch during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Mott was granted Freedom of the City of London in November 2013.

In February 2014, Mott publicly warned that cuts to the British defence budget were threatening to undermine the future spectacle of state ceremonial events in the United Kingdom.