Sir Roger Wheeler | |
---|---|
Born | 16 December 1941 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | British Army |
Years of service | 1961–2000 |
Rank | General |
Commands held |
Chief of the General Staff Land Command Northern Ireland 1st Armoured Division 11 Armoured Brigade 2nd Royal Irish Rangers |
Battles/wars |
Cyprus Emergency Operation Banner Bosnian War Kosovo War |
Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Relations | Major General Norman Wheeler (father) Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler (uncle) Simon Wheeler (son) |
Other work | Constable of the Tower of London (2001–09) |
General Sir Roger Neil Wheeler GCB, CBE (born 16 December 1941) is a retired British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1997 to 2000. During his career he was involved in the Cyprus Emergency, directed military operations in Northern Ireland and led the UK's forces deployed on NATO operations in Bosnia. He is now a non-executive director of several businesses operating on an international basis.
Wheeler was born on 16 December 1941 and is the son of Major General Norman Wheeler. He was educated at Allhallows College in Devon and Hertford College, Oxford, which he joined in 1961.
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 in the Royal Ulster Rifles on 14 July 1964. He spent his early military service in Borneo 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 Cyprus Emergency 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 in 1979 and led his battalion in Belize, Gibraltar, Berlin and Canada. He was then Chief of Staff in the Falkland Islands from June to December 1982 immediately following the Falklands War.