General Sir Jack Wentworth Harman, (20 July 1920 – 28 December 2009) was a British Army officer who became Adjutant-General to the Forces. He began his military career in 1940, serving in

The Queen's Bays The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...

for the majority of his early career and saw service with them during Second World War in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Following the war Harman held various appointments at regimental, divisional and corps level rising to fulfil the role of Adjutant-General to the Forces in 1976. His final position was as

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

, which he held until retirement in 1981. In later life he served as a director of an insurance brokers and vice-chairman of the National Army Museum and The Automobile Association before he died in late December 2009, at the age of 89.

Early life

Harman was the son of Lieutenant General Sir Wentworth Harman KCB, DSO. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Military career

Upon completion of training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Jack Harman was commissioned into the

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...

on 2 March 1940. Promoted to lieutenant on 2 September 1941, he served in the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross in August 1943, "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East."Who's Who 2009 He joined the

24th Lancers The 24th Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army that existed from late 1940 to mid-1944. Assigned to the 8th Armoured Brigade, the regiment fought during the Invasion of Normandy before being disbanded in July 1944. After disbandme ...

for the Normandy landings but in the autumn of 1944 he re-joined the Bay's for the Italian Campaign and was involved in the Spring 1945 offensive. During the Second World War, Harman served with the 2nd Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert and the Italian Campaign. Harman 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 1 July 1946 and to

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 2 March 1953. He was appointed

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 ...

(CO) of

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales and the bordering English counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and ...

in 1960, and, having promoted to colonel on 22 January 1965 (with seniority from 7 May 1963) he became Commander 11th Infantry Brigade in 1965. Promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1966, after attending the Imperial Defence College in 1967 he became Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence and Operations in January 1968. Promoted to major-general on 12 February 1970 (with seniority from 25 August 1969) Harman served as General Officer Commanding, 1st Division from 1970 until 1972 and as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst between 1972 and 1973. During his tenure, and with his assistance, the

Army Board The Army Board is the top single-service management committee of the British Army, and has always been staffed by senior politicians and soldiers. Until 1964 it was known as the Army Council. Membership of the Board The composition is as follo ...

cut the commissioning course from two years to one year. Promoted to lieutenant general on 24 January 1974 (with seniority from 24 January 1973), he served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 1 (British) Corps from 1974, until 1976. On 1 November 1975, Harman was appointed the Colonel, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. Promoted to full general on 15 July 1976 (with seniority from 25 March 1976) he was appointed Adjutant-General to the Forces that same year. Finally he served as

from 1978 to 1981. He retired from the British Army on 7 May 1981. He was also aide-de-camp general to the Queen from 1977 to 1980. He was appointed as an

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 ...

in 1962, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1974 and as a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in 1978.

Later life

Upon retirement from the military, Harman became a Director of Wilsons Hogg Robinson, an insurance brokers; a position he filled from 1982 to 1988. He was vice-chairman of the National Army Museum from 1980 to 1987. He also held the post of vice-chairman of The Automobile Association between 1986 and 1989.

Family

In 1947, he was married to Gwladys May Murphy; widow of Lieutenant-Colonel RJ Murphy and was the daughter of Sir Idwal Lloyd. In 2001 he married again, this time to Sheila Perkins (née Gurdon), widow of Major Christopher Perkins. He has a daughter from his first marriage and two stepdaughters from his second.Military engagement
Daily Telegraph, 13 March 2001 He died in his sleep the morning of 28 December 2009.

References

External links

– Daily Telegraph obituary

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Jack 1920 births 2009 deaths 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards officers 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) officers Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies British Army generals British Army personnel of World War II Commandants of Sandhurst Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath NATO military personnel Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire People from Farnham Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Surrey