Frank King

Northern Ireland On 1 February 1973 King succeeded Sir Harry Tuzo as GOC Northern Ireland and Director of Operations. This was the worst period of the Troubles, nearly 12,000 bombing and shooting incidents had occurred the year before King's appointment, but by the end of his period in command, the figure was down to just under 2,500 a year. His obituary in The Times states that he "was regarded by many as the best and most successful Director of Operations in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s", His success was attributable to a number of factors: he regularly visited the troops on the ground which gave him a good picture of the difficulties faced in particular areas; once a unit or commander had proved itself, he was happy to delegate considerable authority, in particular to his immediate subordinate, Commander Land Forces (Sir) Peter Leng; he had a good relationship with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, who said of King "You have never played at politics and I have never played at being a soldier; that's why we have got on so well." King was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1976 New Year Honours.

Later career and retirement On 20 January 1976, King was granted local rank as general, and appointed Commander NATO Northern Army Group and Commander-in-Chief British Army of the Rhine, again succeeding Tuzo. He was promoted to substantive general on 16 March 1976 (with seniority from 1 September 1975). He delivered the Kermit Roosevelt lectures in the United States' staff colleges in 1977, and retired from the army on 27 December 1978.

In addition to his command roles, King held the largely honorary appointments of colonel commandant of the Army Air Corps from 1 November 1974 to 1 January 1980, and of Aide de Camp General to the Queen from 1977 to his retirement. He died on 30 March 1998,