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 Roger Neil Wheeler, (born 16 December 1941) is a retired

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

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

from 1997 to 2000. During his career he was involved in the

Cyprus Emergency The Cyprus Emergency ( gr, Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), also known as the Greek Cypriot War of Independence or Cypriot War of Independence, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 1 ...

, directed military operations 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 ...

and led the UK's forces deployed on

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

operations in Bosnia. He is now a non-executive director of several businesses operating on an international basis.

Early life

Wheeler was born in Eton on 16 December 1941 and is the son of Major General Norman Wheeler. He was educated at

Allhallows College Allhallows College, previously known as Allhallows School, was an independent public school for boys in Devon, in the west of England. Predominantly a boarding school, but with some day boys, it was founded in Honiton about 1515, moved to a new ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010, and

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

, which he joined in 1961.

Army career

Wheeler was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) on the General List of the Territorial Army on 13 December 1963 and, following his graduation from University, 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 ...

in the

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

on 14 July 1964. He spent his early military service in

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 ea ...

and in the Middle East. He was promoted to captain on 22 December 1967 and to major on 31 December 1973 and served as a brigade major during the

in 1974. After serving on Lord Carver's staff during the Rhodesia talks in 1977, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1978. He became commanding officer of 2nd

Royal Irish Rangers The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal Iris ...

in 1979 and led his battalion in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, Berlin and Canada. He was then Chief of Staff in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

from June to December 1982 immediately following the Falklands War. Having been promoted to full

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 o ...

on 30 June 1982, appointed a

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 ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 1983 and 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. I ...

on 31 December 1984, he went on to be Brigade Commander of 11 Armoured Brigade in

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 ...

in 1985. After that he went to the Ministry of Defence in 1987 as Director of Army Plans. Following his appointment as General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division 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 ...

in August 1989, he was given the substantive rank of

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 ...

on 30 September 1989. He became Assistant Chief of the General Staff on 30 November 1990 and, after being appointed a

Knight Commander 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 o ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 1993, he was made General Officer Commanding and Director of Military Operations in

on 25 January 1993 with his promotion to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

becoming substantive on 1 March 1993. During his tour as Director of Military Operations the first cessation of terrorist operations took place and Wheeler initiated the reduction in the British military presence in Northern Ireland by three battalions over the course of the next two years. Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn - geograph

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Land Command in the rank of

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 ...

on 12 March 1996 and, having been appointed ADC General to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

on 6 December 1996 and advanced to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours List 1997, made

(CGS) on 3 February 1997. As CGS, he was responsible for implementing the

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of ...

after the new Labour Government came to power as well as providing strategic military advice to the British Government on the deployment of troops for the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...

and in connection with the formation of the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...

before he retired from the

in 2000. He served as Deputy Colonel of the Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th) from 1 June 1987, as Colonel of The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th) from 27 August 1990 and then as Deputy Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment, (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and The Ulster Defence Regiment) from 1 July 1992. He also served as Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps from 18 October 1995, Honorary Colonel Queen's University Officers' Training Corps from 23 December 1999 and Honorary Colonel of Oxford University Officers' Training Corps from 10 March 2000. In additional he was Deputy Honorary Colonel of The London Regiment from 17 March 2000.

Later career

Wheeler became

Constable of the Tower The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

of London in 2001. In retirement, he became a Non-Executive Director of Thales plc, a Non-Executive Director of

Aegis Defence Services Aegis Defence Services is a British private military and private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, ...

and, until 2009, a member of the governing board of the

Serious Organised Crime Agency The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship ...

as well as President of Combat Stress, the mental welfare society for ex-servicemen. In October 2009 he was appointed advisor on military matters, to the British Government's inquiry into the Iraq war (headed by

Sir John Chilcot Sir John Anthony Chilcot (; 22 April 1939 – 3 October 2021) was a British civil servant. In 2009, he was appointed chairman of the Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as the "Chilcot Inquiry"), an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the ...

). He is also an Honorary Fellow of

, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Patron of the Police Foundation, and a Liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of painters of metals and wood is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked o ...

. Wheeler has also played cricket for the Stragglers of Asia CC, one of the oldest wandering cricket clubs in the UK. His interests include fly fishing,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...

and

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Family

In 1980 he married Felicity Hares; they have three sons, including Simon Wheeler, and one daughter by a former marriage. His daughter-in-law is British actress

Hermione Norris Hermione Jane Norris (born 5 December 1966) is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Ka ...

via her marriage to Wheeler's son Simon. He is the nephew of the late Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Roger 1941 births Living people Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army generals Royal Ulster Rifles officers Royal Irish Rangers officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Chiefs of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Constables of the Tower of London People from Eton, Berkshire Military personnel from Buckinghamshire