Michael Walsh (British Army officer)

Major General Michael John Hatley Walsh (10 June 1927 – 13 October 2015) was a senior British Army officer and the Chief Scout of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories from 1982 to 1988.

Education
Walsh was born in 1927 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He was educated at two independent schools: at Clifton House School in Harrogate, Yorkshire and at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, and was a member of the local Scout Troop. He attained the King's Scout Award with the added distinction of Gold Cords, indicating it as the highest award available in Scouting at the time.

Military career
Michael Walsh joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a rifleman in 1944 and was commissioned in 1945. He spent the winter of 1945 – 46 in northern Italy guarding against incursion by Josip Broz Tito’s partisans. After instructing at the Small Arms School and the Jungle Warfare School in Malaya, he was seconded to the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (known as “3 Para”) and went with them to Cyprus in 1956 as a company commander, where he took part in operations against EOKA insurgents.

In November 1956, the Suez Crisis had come to a head and 3 Para were tasked with capturing El Gamil airfield close to Port Said – part of Operation Musketeer. This was the first and last British operational parachute assault since the Second World War. Despite fierce opposition including tanks, the airfield was captured in 30 minutes. After various staff and training appointments, he returned to the role of company commander with 3 Para to take part in the 1964 campaign in the Radfan Mountains in Saudi Arabia. After promotion to lieutenant colonel, he took command of 1 Para on an emergency tour to Aden in January 1967. The battalion was responsible for “Area North” for seven months and were the last British battalion to withdraw. Walsh was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for various actions in June. The citation reads: “By his outstanding devotion to duty, personal bravery and exceptional powers of command, Lieutenant-Colonel Walsh contained the situation at Sheikh Othman whilst never departing from the principle of minimum force.”

Walsh then held staff appointments with British Army of the Rhine and the 28th Commonwealth Brigade in Singapore. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence in 1973. Following promotion to major general he took command of 3rd Armoured Division in 1976 and was then appointed Director of Army Training in 1978, retiring in 1981.

Retirement years
He was Knight President of the London-based Society of Knights of the Round Table from 1988 until 1995, the Director of Overseas Relations for St. John Ambulance from 1989 until 1995, and Vice President of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). He died on 13 October 2015.

Awards

 * 1968 Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
 * 1980 Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB)]
 * 1986 Commander of the Order of St John (CStJ)
 * 1993 Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ)
 * Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London