Sir Seymour Vivian Gilbart-Denham, (1939–2018) was a British Army officer and courtier.
Born on 10 October 1939, Gilbart-Denham was the son of
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 ...
Vivian Maurice Gilbart-Denham and his wife, Diana Mary, daughter of Henry Ralph Beaumont, JP, and maternal granddaughter of
Sir James Gibson-Craig, 3rd Baronet.
[''Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage'' (1963), p. 168.] Vivian Gilbart-Denham was an officer in the
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...
and was
killed in action in 1940;
[Henry Boyt]
"Lieutenant Colonel Sir Seymour Gilbart-Denham KCVO"
''The Life Guards Magazine: Journal of the Household Division'' (Autumn 2018). Retrieved 11 June 2019. he was the son of Sir
James Denham. Seymour Gilbart-Denham had two brothers: Desmond James Beaumont (born 1930) and Brian John (born 1934).
Gilbart-Denham was educated at
Ludgrove School
Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent boys ...
and then
Tabley House School, which he enjoyed, becoming
head boy
Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...
.
After leaving school, he joined the
Household Cavalry
The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment st ...
and served as a
trooper in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
in 1958. He then trained at
Mons Officer Cadet School
Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst.
Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cadet ...
and was commissioned into the
Life Guards in 1960 as a
2nd 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 ...
. He was posted 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 ...
(1960–62) and then as Troop Leader in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(1962–64), before returning to Cyprus to support the
UN.
He returned to
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and was appointed
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
in 1965
["Gilbart-Denham, Lt-Col Sir Seymour (Vivian)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'' (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2018). Retrieved 11 June 2019. and promoted to the rank of
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 ...
the following year. He went with the regiment to
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
;
in 1967, he ceased to be Adjutant
and was appointed second-in-command in
Arthur Gooch's squadron stationed in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. In 1968, he returned to Windsor and served in
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 ...
the following year. In 1971, he was placed in command of the Household Cavalry Training Squadron. He returned to Northern Ireland for a third tour in 1973.
According to an obituary, he was promoted to Major in 1971,
but ''
The London Gazette
''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...
''
's notice dates it to 1974. He then spent periods in the United Kingdom and Germany, before becoming a
staff officer
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
in 1981. He subsequently served at Headquarters
33rd Armoured Brigade, Headquarters
4th Armoured Division (as an SO2) and with
United Kingdom Land Forces
United Kingdom Land Forces was a command of the British Army responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. The commander of the forces was known as Commander-in-Chief, United Kingdom Land Forces, who in ...
.
In 1986, 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 colonel. ...
and took command of the
Household Cavalry Regiment
The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both ...
. The following year, he was appointed
Crown Equerry
The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train tr ...
, an office in which he served until retiring in 2002.
Having been appointed a Commander of the
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
in the
1994 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other c ...
, he was promoted to Knight Commander in July 2002.
The London Gazette
', 9 August 2002 (issue 56659), notice L-56659-1004. He continued to be an Extra Equerry in retirement and died on 19 June 2018.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbart-Denham, Seymour
1939 births
2018 deaths
Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School
British Life Guards officers
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
British Life Guards soldiers
Equerries
People educated at Ludgrove School