Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Nicholas Henry Eeles (born 24 April 1961) is 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 who served as General Officer Commanding Scotland.

Military career

Educated at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, Eeles was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1982. In 1994 he was deployed to Bosnia as Chief of Staff in the British headquarters of

United Nations Protection Force The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...

. He then commanded C Battery Royal Horse Artillery in which role he was deployed to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was appointed Commanding Officer of 26 Regiment RA in 2001 and commanded his regiment in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and Bosnia before preparing in for operations in Iraq. He went on to be Commander Royal Artillery of 3rd Division in April 2005, Brigadier on the general staff in the Ministry of Defence in June 2007 and Director Royal Artillery in January 2010. He was appointed General Officer Commanding 2nd Infantry Division and Governor of Edinburgh Castle on 4 January 2012 and, following the disbanding of 2nd Infantry Division on 1 April 2012, he became General Officer Commanding Scotland on 2 April 2012. Eeles was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eeles, Nick 1961 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bristol British Army major generals Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of the Iraq War Commanders of the Order of the British Empire