John Slim ( Colonel Viscount Slim, OBE, late Infantry )

Born 1927. Educated at the Prince of Wales's Royal Indian Military College, Dehra Dun. Commissioned into the Indian Army just after his 18^th birthday in July 1945, as a Second Lieutenant, 6^th Gurkha Rifles. The son of the then Commander In Chief Allied Land Forces South East Asia, Lieutenant General Sir William Slim ( later Field Marshal Viscount Slim of Yarralunla and Bishopston ), his first assignment was as aide de camp to his father. On Indian independence the Gurkha regiments were split between the British and Indian Armies, 6 GR being one of those to stay in India. Slim transferred to the British service ( as all junior British officers had to ) and received a regular commission as a Lieutenant in The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in July 1948. However he was not to remain in regimental service for very long, joining the Malayan Scouts ( soon to become 22 SAS) in 1952, as a troop commander. In 1954, by now a Captain, he was sent to Australia to join the British Services Liaison Staff, based in Melbourne. As the only officer with SAS experience in the country he was consulted by the Australian Army on setting up an equivalent unit in that country, which eventually happened in 1957. By that time Slim had returned to Malaya and 22 SAS and in April 1957 became an Acting Major and Officer Commanding (OC) A Squadron. He held this post until handing over command to Johnny Cooper, one of David Stirling's " originals " in 1958.

Major Slim attended the Staff College, Camberley, in 1961 and was then Brigade Major of a Territorial Army infantry brigade from 1962 to 1964. He passed the next phase of professional education, the Joint Services Staff College, in 1964 and returned again to 22 SAS Regiment in January 1965, this time as Second In Command. The regiment was at this time engaged on operations in Borneo and Slim and his CO, Mike Wingate-Gray, alternately ran the Tactical Headquarters there and the Rear HQ back at Hereford. In 1966 Slim was transferred to a staff post as a GSO2 ( General Staff Officer Grade 2 ) at Headquarters Middle East Command, being involved in the final British withdrawal from Aden the following year. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1967 he took over from Wingate-Gray as CO of 22 SAS, serving the normal two and a half-year tour. He was GSO1 (Special Forces) at Headquarters UK Land Forces from 1970 and that same year succeeded his father as Viscount. He was also created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work as CO of 22 SAS during a difficult period when there were no wars to fight but much reorganisation and retraining to be done. Like John Woodhouse before him he was to be denied higher rank, probably because he had spent so little time with his own regiment; these were still the days (happily soon to change) when SAS service could actually count against an officer instead of for him. Slim retired in October 1972, later being given an honorary promotion to Colonel. He had married Elizabeth Spinney in 1958 and had two sons and a daughter. Viscount Slim entered the business world and became a Vice President and Director of Boyden International Ltd. He was also for many years Chairman of the British-Australia Society.