General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Sir Timothy May Creasey (21 September 1923 – 5 October 1986) 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 who became
General Officer Commanding of the British Army 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 ...
, as well as the commander of the
Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces
The Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة لسلطان عمان, transliterated: ''al-Quwāt ul-Musallaḥatu lis-Sulṭān 'Umān'') are the Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman, Sultan's S ...
.
Regimental career
Creasey was born in 1923, and educated at
Clifton College
''The spirit nourishes within''
, established = 160 years ago
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school
, religion = Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head of College
, hea ...
. He joined the Army on leaving school, and was commissioned in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
on 1942, as a junior officer in the
10th Baluch Regiment
The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...
. He served with them in South-East Asia, Italy and Greece, before transferring into the
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 ...
and joining the
Royal Norfolk Regiment
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...
.
[Obituary: ''The Times'', 7 October 1986.]
In 1955, he was a major in
39th Infantry Brigade, which served in Kenya during the
Mau Mau Uprising, and in the following year experienced a different form of unconventional warfare whilst posted to Northern Ireland, during the
1956 IRA border campaign. After a spell as an instructor at the
Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...
, he was promoted to command the 1st Battalion of the newly formed
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...
in 1965, and saw service in the
Aden Emergency
The Aden Emergency, also known as the Radfan Uprising (), was an armed rebellion by NLF and FLOSY during the Cold War against the Federation of South Arabia, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which now forms part of Yemen.
Partly inspire ...
.
He earned an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service in the
1966 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...
.
Senior command
After Aden, he was promoted to command
11th Armoured Brigade in the
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...
, a post he held from 1968 until 1970, and then attended the
Royal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest lev ...
in 1971.
In 1972, he was appointed major-general and seconded to
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
, where he acted as Commander of the
Sultan's Armed Forces.
The new Sultan,
Qaboos bin Said
Qaboos bin Said Al Said ( ar, قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said ...
, had been trained at Sandhurst and served in the British Army, and as part of the revitalisation of his forces during the
Dhofar Rebellion
The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group ...
he requested a large number of British military advisors. Creasey's period in Oman was effective; he quickly established a centralised command of the Army, and helped take the initiative against the Dhofari rebels. His previous experience with the Indian Army proved an asset, as a sizeable proportion of the Omani army was made up of Baluchis. He left in February 1975, with the campaign winding down.
After a brief spell as Director of Infantry,
he was appointed on 1 November 1977 to succeed Sir
David House as
General Officer Commanding 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 ...
.
His experience as a commander had largely been in small-scale "colonial wars", and as such he was a contentious choice for the position. He aimed to get quick results, and his belief that a military solution could be found to the problem put him at odds with the commander of the
Royal Ulster Constabulary, Sir
Kenneth Newman
Sir Kenneth Leslie Newman (15 August 1926 – 4 February 2017) was a senior British police officer. He was Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) from 1976 to 1980, and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1982 to 1 ...
. This dispute peaked in 1979, after 18 soldiers were killed in the
Warrenpoint ambush, when Creasey demanded the Army take over control of policing. However, he had a good working relationship with
Roy Mason
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, (18 April 1924 – 19 April 2015), was a British Labour Party politician and Cabinet minister who was Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the 1970s.
Early life
He w ...
, the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
He was replaced as commander by Lieutenant-General Sir
Richard Lawson on 1 December 1979.
[ Note that the ''London Gazette'' announced the handover effective 8 January 1980.]
He was appointed as
Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces in 1980, but left this shortly thereafter to return to Oman, at the personal request of the Sultan. Creasey had waived retirement to become Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Defence Staff, in the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces in 1981,
and oversaw a far-reaching reform of the Ministry of Defence and a modernisation of the army. Among other features, the redesigned system gave him complete control of arms procurement, which with the approval of the Sultan, ensured that many contracts went to British firms. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his role in Oman was controversial in the country, with many senior Omanis criticising his methods.
References
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, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creasey, Timothy
1923 births
1986 deaths
British Army generals
Indian Army personnel of World War II
Burials in Essex
British Indian Army officers
Royal Norfolk Regiment officers
Royal Anglian Regiment officers
Military of Oman
British military personnel of the Aden Emergency
British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising
British military personnel of the Dhofar Rebellion
People educated at Clifton College
Place of birth missing
Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies
Academics of the Staff College, Camberley
Place of death missing
British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland)