Cedric Delves
| Cedric Delves | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 (age 63) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1968 – 2003 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held |
22 SAS 3rd (UK) Division Field Army |
| Battles/wars |
Operation Banner Falklands War Bosnian War Iraq War |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Lieutenant General Sir Cedric Norman George Delves KBE DSO (born 1947) is a former British Army general.
Early life
Delves was born in 1947 and educated at Woolverstone Hall School.
Military career
Delves was commissioned into the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment in 1968.[1] Having been promoted to Captain he undertook tours in Northern Ireland for which he was Mentioned in Despatches in 1979[2] and again in 1981.[3]
Major Cedric Delves distinguished himself on 21 April 1982 when, as Officer Commanding D Squadron 22 SAS, he captured Grytviken on South Georgia without a single loss of life, on 15 May 1982 when his squadron destroyed eleven Argentine aircraft at Pebble Island, on 21 May 1982 when he led a deceptive raid on Darwin, and again on 31 May 1982 at Mount Kent in the Falkland Islands where he took his squadron 40 miles behind enemy lines and secured a firm hold on the area allowing conventional forces to be brought in.[4] He was Commanding Officer of 22 SAS in 1988[5] when British Special Forces carried out the Death on the Rock operation which resulted in the death of three IRA bombers in Gibraltar.[6] In 1993 he was appointed Director Special Forces[7] and by December 1995, as a Brigadier, he was leading Special Operations in Bosnia as Commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF), a component of the Implementation Force (IFOR).[8]
He was made General Officer Commanding 3rd (UK) Division in 1996[9] in which role he was deployed to Bosnia in January 1998 as Commander of Multi-National Division (South-West).[10]
By 1999 he was Chief of Joint Forces Operational Readiness and Training.[11] He became Deputy Commander-in-Chief at Land Command (subsequently retitled 'Commander Field Army') in the rank of Lieutenant General in December 2000.[12] This was just prior to the Invasion of Iraq and went on to be Deputy Commander at NATO HQ Allied Forces North at Brunssum in September 2003.[13] In December 2003 he lost a leg when he was crushed against a wall by a drunk driver in Maastricht in the Netherlands[6] and was subsequently discharged from the British Army.[13]
Later life
In retirement, Delves became a Director of Olive Group, a security business.[14] He became Lieutenant of the Tower of London in March 2007.[15] He was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Peter Pearson on 4 May 2010.[16]
Honours and decorations
Delves was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 11 October 1982 "in recognition of distinguished service during the operations in the South Atlantic",[4] appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 1990[17] and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in June 2003.[18]
Family
He is married to Suzy.[19]
References
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44699. p. 11327. 22 October 1968. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48061. p. 312. 8 January 1980. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48822. p. 15924. 15 December 1981. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49134. p. 12844. 8 October 1982. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ Special Operations: Commanding Officers
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ex-SAS Chief run down by a car Daily Telegraph, 10 December 2003
- ↑ Army Commands
- ↑ From Bosnia to Baghdad: the evolution of US Army Special Forces from 1995 to 2004
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 54459. p. 9225. 9 July 1996. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ↑ Conrad, John (2011). Scarce Heard Amid the Guns: An Inside Look at Canadian Peacekeeping. Natural Heritage Books. ISBN 978-1554889815.
- ↑ Whitaker's Almanck 2000
- ↑ Falklands SAS officer promoted to top army post Merco Press, 21 December 2000
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Written Answers House of Commons, 4 June 2007
- ↑ Harry's SAS guru for hire Daily Mail, 30 January 2006
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 58265. p. 3241. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 59411. p. 8081. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 52173. p. 6. 16 June 1990. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56963. p. 5. 14 June 2003. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ↑ A better way to mend the broken man The Times, 24 July 2005
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jeremy Phipps |
Director Special Forces 1993–1996 |
Succeeded by John Sutherell |
| Preceded by Mike Jackson |
General Officer Commanding the 3rd (UK) Division 1996–1999 |
Succeeded by Richard Dannatt |
| Preceded by Andrew Pringle |
Commander Multi-National Division (South-West), Bosnia January 1998–August 1998 |
Succeeded by Redmond Watt |
| Preceded by Sir Jack Deverell |
Commander Field Army 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Sir Redmond Watt |