Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Sir Gregor MacGregor, 6th Baronet (22 December 1925 – 30 March 2003) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and Scottish clan chief. He succeeded his father, Malcolm MacGregor, 5th Baronet, and became the 23rd Chief of Clan Gregor from 1958 until his death. Having served as an officer of the Scots Guards, he was Defence and Military Attaché to Greece between 1975 and 1978.

Early life

Born on 22 December 1925, MacGregor was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Military career

On 22 September 1944, MacGregor received an emergency commission into the Scots Guards as a

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 ...

. His commission was confirmed on 14 February 1948 with seniority from 22 December 1946. Between 1947 and 1948 he fought in the Palestine Campaign. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 14 February 1948, with seniority from 1 November 1947. He fought in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

between 1950 and 1951. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 22 December 1952, and

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 22 December 1959. In 1965 he took part in the

Indonesian Confrontation Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 14 April 1966 and was made

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the

1st Battalion, Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1966, a position he held until 1969. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 30 June 1971. From 1971 to 1973 he served as Colonel of the Scots Guards, then later as Defence and Military Attaché to Athens between 1975 and 1978. He was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

on 31 December 1977, with seniority from 30 June 1977. He was appointed Aide de Camp to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on 16 January 1979. He retired from military service on 22 December 1980.

Personal life

MacGregor inherited the title of 6th Baronet MacGregor and the position of 23rd Chief of Clan Gregor upon the death of his father in 1958. He was admitted to the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a perso ...

. A

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

for many years, between 1985 and 1993 he was

Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland This is a list of Grand Master Masons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland: # 1736–1737: William St Clair of Roslin # 1737–1738: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie # 1738–1739: John Keith, 3rd Earl of Kintore (G.M. of England; 1740) # 1739 ...

On 8 February 1958, he married Fanny Butler and they had two children: Malcolm Gregor Charles MacGregor (b. 23 March 1959) and Ninian Hubert Alexander MacGregor (b. 30 June 1961). Lady MacGregor died on 10 August 2016. His oldest son married television journalist

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

Fiona Armstrong.

''Cry Havoc'' incident

In 2011 the British mercenary and former Scots Guard and SAS officer, Simon Mann upset members of Clan Gregor and MacGregor's family after publishing his autobiography in which he describes MacGregor as a "small, toxic, red-haired, farting, foul-mouthed, stentorian dragon". The book, ''Cry Havoc'', contains Mann's account of his unsuccessful mission to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

References

External links

Thepeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macgregor, Gregor 1925 births 2003 deaths Greg Scottish clan chiefs Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British Army personnel of World War II Scots Guards officers People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British Army personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Members of the Royal Company of Archers