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 ...

Sir Henry Desmond Allen Langley, (16 May 1930 – 14 February 2008) was a senior

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

Major-General commanding the Household Division The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division of the British Army and is also the General Officer Commanding London District. In British Army parlance, "The Major-General" always refers to the Major-Genera ...

and General Officer Commanding London District from 1979 to 1983. He later served as the 132nd Governor of Bermuda from 1988 to 1992.

Military career

Educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Langley was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1949.Obituary: Major-General Sir Desmond Langley
Daily Telegraph, 1 April 2008 He was posted to Egypt and then to Libya. He then served with HQ Far East Land Forces during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the early 1960s. He later became Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment and

Silver Stick The Gold Stick and the Silver Stick are bodyguard positions in the British Royal Household, personal attendants to the Sovereign on ceremonial occasions. Gold Stick Although now only in evidence on ceremonial and state occasions, the offi ...

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), ...

. In 1976 he was appointed commander of 4th Guards Armoured Brigade and in 1978 he became a

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 the General Staff at UK Land Forces. Langley became

and General Officer Commanding London District in 1979 organising, inter alia, the military ceremony for the marriage of the Prince Charles and

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

.Obituary: Major-General Sir Desmond Langley
The Times, 7 March 2008 His final appointment was as commander of

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United ...

and Administrator of the

Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory ...

in 1983 before retiring in 1988.

Later life

In retirement Langley was civil Governor and military Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda from 1988 to 1992, taking particular interest in the

Bermuda Regiment The Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR), formerly the Bermuda Regiment, is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed on the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally ...

(now the ''Royal Bermuda Regiment'') and hosting summit meetings in Bermuda between Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

and US President George H. W. Bush, and then between Prime Minister John Major and Bush. Among the mourners who attended Langley's funeral at St Luke's Church in

Milland Milland is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is situated north of the A272 road on the border with Hampshire. In the 2001 census the parish covered and had 332 households with a total population ...

on 10 March 2008 were two former commanding officers of the Bermuda Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Rance and Lieutenant Colonel David Burch, as well as two of Sir Desmond's three ADCs from the Bermuda Regiment, Major William Madeiros and Captain Larry Mussenden.

Family

In 1950 Langley married Felicity Oliphant; the couple had a son and a daughter.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Desmond 1930 births 2008 deaths British Life Guards officers Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Order of the British Empire British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel from London