John Archer (British Army officer)

Sir John Archer
Born	12 February 1924
Died	12 March 1999 (aged 75)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1944–1980
Unit	Royal Norfolk Regiment Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
Commands held	1st Battalion, Devonshire and Dorset Regiment 2nd Division Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong UK Land Forces
Battles/wars	Malayan Emergency
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

General Sir (Arthur) John Archer, KCB, OBE (12 February 1924 – 12 March 1999) was a senior officer of the British Army and a former Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces.

Army career

Educated at King's School, Peterborough and St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, John Archer was commissioned into the Royal Norfolk Regiment in 1944.^[1] He transferred to the Devon and Dorset Regiment in 1946 and served with the Regiment during the Malayan Emergency.^[1] He was Commanding Officer of 1 Bn Devon and Dorset Regiment from 1965 to 1967.^[1] He then went on to command British Land Forces in The Gulf from 1968 to 1969.^[1] He was General Officer Commanding 2nd Division from 1972 to 1974.^[1] He was then Director Army Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence from 1974 to 1976 and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong from 1976 to 1978.^[1][2]

He served as the Commander in Chief, UK Land Forces from 1978 to 1980 when he retired.^[1]

Later career

In retirement, he was a Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Chief Executive of The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.^[3]

References

1. Debrett's People of Today 1994
2. List of British Commanders in Hong Kong
3. General Sir John Archer, Obituary The Telegraph, 22 March 1999