THE British Forces Foundation is delighted to welcome a very distinguished new member to the Board of Trustees - General Lord Guthrie, the former Chief of the Defence Staff.

General Lord Guthrie was born on 17 November 1938. He was educated at Harrow School and went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1957 and was commissioned into the Welsh Guards in 1959.

He served with his Regiment as a young officer in the United Kingdom, Libya, Germany and Aden. In 1966 he joined the SAS and served in the Middle East, Malaysia and East Africa.

In 1970 he returned to the Welsh Guards and for two years commanded an armoured infantry company in Germany. After a year as a student at the Staff College, he served in the Ministry of Defence as the Assistant to the Head of the Army, the Chief of the General Staff.

From 1975 - 1977 he was the Brigade Major of the Household Division and from 1977-1980 he commanded the Welsh Guards in Berlin and Northern Ireland.

He was appointed as a Colonel to the branch overseeing operations worldwide and during his time there became briefly the Commander British Forces New Hebrides (Vanuatu) and recaptured the island of Espirito Santo, which had been taken over by insurgents.

In 1981 he was appointed Commander of the 4th Armoured Brigade in Munster, West Germany, following which he was Chief of Staff, Headquarters 1st British Corps in Bielefeld.

He became the General Officer Commanding the 2nd Infantry Division and North East District in 1985. In 1986 he became Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps.

After a further tour in the Ministry of Defence he became in succession the Commander of the 1st British Corps, the Northern Army Group, the British Army of the Rhine before becoming the Chief of the General Staff and finally the Chief of the Defence Staff (1997-2001).

He is Colonel of the Life Guards, Gold Stick to The Queen and Colonel Commandant of the SAS.
General Lord Guthrie, a Director of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited, is married with two grown-up sons.

A keen sportsman, he played rugby for the Army, and today regularly rides and plays tennis. He also attends the opera as often as he can.

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General Lord Guthrie