Hugh Beach

Early life Beach was educated at Winchester College, Peterhouse, Cambridge (MA 1961) and the University of Edinburgh (MSc 1971).

During the 1960s Beach commanded an engineer regiment and an infantry brigade, both at Osnabrück in Germany. In 1964 he reorganised the volunteer reserves.

Beach also served as Colonel of the Royal Pioneer Corps from 1976 to 1981.

Later life Retiring from the army in 1981, Beach served as warden of St. George's House, Windsor Castle from 1981 to 1986, vice-Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1981 to 1987, Chief Royal Engineer from 1982 to 1987 and member of the Security Commission from 1982 to 1991. He chaired Ministry of Defence Study Groups on Censorship in War in 1983 and Education in the Army in 1984. He was director of the Council for Arms Control from 1986 to 1989. He was a member of the Board of Governors of Monkton Combe School from 1984 to 1993. In the 1990s he was chairman of the governors of Gordon's and Bedales schools, and also chaired the boards of the Church Army and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Beach was a member of the board or executive committee of: the Council for Christian Approaches to Defence, the Centre for Defence Studies (King's College London), the Verification Technology Information Centre (VERTIC), the International Security Information Service (ISIS), and of the British Pugwash Group. He lectured and contributed chapters to over two dozen books as well as publishing a number of monographs, articles and book reviews. In 1999 he co-authored, with Nadine Gurr, a book on British nuclear weapons policy and, in 2001, a briefing paper on cluster bombs,

In January 2009, The Times newspaper published a joint letter from Field Marshal Lord Bramall, General Lord Ramsbotham and General Beach arguing that the UK government should fund more realistic military needs rather than perpetuate its Trident programme, arguing that:

Beach died 4 September 2019 at age 96.

The Cuinchy Bridge, where he was injured in September 1944, was named "Hugh Beach Bridge" in his honor, in September 2021.