Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Sir William Walter Mahon, 7th Baronet, (born 4 December 1940) is a retired

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He is descended from Sir Ross Mahon, 1st Baronet (1763-1835), Member of Parliament for

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, who was created a baronet on 14 April 1819.Kidd, Charles, & Williamson, David, (eds) ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (New York: St Martin's Press, 1990 edition) He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1987, and his heir is his only son, James William.

Early life and career

The son of Sir George Edward John Mahon, 6th Baronet, and of Audrey Evelyn (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Jagger), Mahon was educated at Eton and was commissioned into the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

in 1960. He served with the British Army in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. From 1993, he was a member of HM the Queen's body guard, the

Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of Gen ...

, and served as the unit's Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant from 2006 to 2008 and as its Standard Bearer from 2008.'Mahon, Colonel Sir William (Walter)' in

Who's Who (UK) ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

for 2008 (online edition) For these services, he was appointed

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(LVO) in the 2011 New Year Honours.

Personal life

He was active as a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Relief from 1993 to 2002 and became Chairman of the National Army Museum Development Trust in 2003. In 1968, he married Rosemary Jane, younger daughter of Lt-Colonel M. E. Melvill

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

of Symington,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, and they have one son (James William Mahon, born 29 October 1976) and two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahon, William Walter 1940 births Living people 7 British people of Irish descent Irish Guards officers People educated at Eton College Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms