Brigadier Andrew Christopher "Andy" Massey

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(18 April 1943 – 19 August 1998) was a British Army officer who served in Oman, Dhofar and Northern Ireland. He was a commander of the

22 SAS The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

Regiment before retiring as a Brigadier.

Early life

Massey was born on 18 April 1943 at

Carlisle, Cumberland Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

. He was educated at Welbeck College and

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

Military career

Officer Cadet Massey

was commissioned as

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

on 20 December 1963, and he was posted to serve with the transport squadron of 7th Artillery Brigade. Massey was promoted lieutenant on 20 June 1965. After a year with the Royal Corps of Transport Movement (RCT) squadron he joined No. 63 Parachute Squadron (RCT) in February 1967 as a lieutenant. Two years later the squadron became the first to reinforce troops in Northern Ireland. On 20 December 1969 he was promoted

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. After this tour he was recommended for the

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

and after passing selection in 1970 he joined "A Squadron" in 1971 as Troop Captain. Massey served in the Oman and Dhofar on three tours, before he rejoined the Airborne Forces as Staff Captain of HQ No. 16 Parachute Brigade where he made further tours of Northern Ireland. In 1975 he attended Staff College at

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, Surrey following which he was promoted

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 31 December 1975, and posted posting was as a Staff Officer, at HQ Northern Ireland from 1977 to 1979. Massey and his wife, Major Annabelle Cunningham (married 1977), went to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

to receive his Member of the Order of the British Empire which was awarded in January 1980. In the summer of 1979 he was appointed to command "A Squadron"

Regiment a position he held until his promotion to lieutenant-colonel in 1981 when he became an instructor at Camberley leading the

Counter Revolutionary Warfare The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

Team. In 1982 he was appointed the Special Forces Liaison Officer at HQ Commander-in Chief Fleet in

Northwood, Middlesex Northwood is an affluent area in northwest London, England. It is located within the London Borough of Hillingdon on the border with Hertfordshire and from Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex and has f ...

during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. Massey won the US Armed Forces Staff College Leadership Prize in 1984 before succeeding to command of

Regiment from Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Rose. He was promoted colonel on 31 December 1987, and in 1988 was himself succeeded as commander of

Regiment by Lieutenant-Colonel Cedric Delves, DSO, Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE MOD 45147520

From 1988 he was responsible for the UK Commitment in the Far East and Africa at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Massey was appointed Deputy Director of Special Forces in 1990 and when the Gulf War broke out, he was appointed Operational Commander of the UK Special Forces for Operation Granby for which he received a belated Mention in Despatches. On 30 June 1992 he was promoted to Brigadier and returned to his parent corps as Commandant of

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

Training Centre in Aldershot. He retired from the Army on 1 November 1993.

Later career

Defence Systems Ltd and Director of Welsh TEC.

Sports

Massey was a committed sportsman, particularly football and golf. He was Chairman of the Army Football Association and before leaving the Army he presented the Massey Trophy to be contested each season by the corps teams and which represents a highly prized corps football competition within the Army.

Death

He died at

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, Herefordshire on 19 August 1998, reportedly in a drowning accident.

Honours and decorations

* Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in January 1980 *

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in January 1988 *

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

awarded in April 1994 for his services in Operation Granby

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Andrew 1943 births 1998 deaths Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Corps of Transport officers Special Air Service officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Royal Army Service Corps officers Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom British Army brigadiers Military personnel from Carlisle, Cumbria People educated at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College 20th-century British Army personnel