Page 235 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

Lieutenant General Sir
Christopher Wallace
KBE DL The Kings Royal
Ri e Corps and The Royal
Green Jackets. Christopher
Quentin Brooke Wallace
was commissioned into 2nd
Green Jackets (Kings Royal
Ri e Corps) in December
1962 having won The
Queen’s Medal presented to
the Of cer Cadet of his Intake
at RMA Sandhurst achieving
the highest scores in military, practical and academic studies; his intellect, work ethic and ability was apparent and recognised even then. He joined his Regiment in Colchester and served in British Guyana before moving with them to Penang, Malaysia and completing two operational tours in Borneo during Confrontation with Indonesia. In 1966 the Regiment was amalgamated into The Royal Green Jackets with whom he subsequently served in the second and third battalions, commanding the 3rd Battalion in Germany and Northern Ireland from 1983 - 1985.
Christopher was a very capable and inspiring leader, awarded an MID on operations in Northern Ireland and rising to command of 7 Armoured Brigade and then 3rd Armoured Division in Germany. He was also a meticulous and able Staff Of cer whose senior appointments included Director Public Relations (Army) and Commandant of the Staff College Camberley. Christopher always looked for the best answer to any problem he faced; ‘better is the enemy of good enough’ was not a saying that he would ever accept but, although he could be a hard task master, he was quick to acknowledge good work and give praise when it was deserved. His work ethic and considerable talents were recognised with the award of an MBE as a Brigade Major in 1977 and an OBE in 1982 as MA to the Adjutant General.
His greatest achievement was as leader of the team tasked with setting up the permanent joint force headquarters at Northwood in the mid-1990s. Never overawed by rank his clear thinking, abhorrence of ambiguity and resolution in debate saw the reali- sation of what was an unpopular and controversial idea, resisted initially by the single services who saw it as a diminution of their operational authority. In recognition of his work Christopher became the rst Chief of Joint Operations, was made KBE and promoted Lieutenant General. However, his success in creating this new headquarters held the seeds of disappointment for he was retired in 1999 without achieving the high rank and senior appointment that his abilities merited.
Christopher’s Honorary appointments included Colonel Commandant of the Royal Green Jackets, Colonel Commandant of the Light Division, Colonel Commandant Royal Military Police and Deputy Colonel Commandant Adjutant General’s Corps. On retirement in 1999 he was chosen, against open competition, as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies a post he held from January 2001 until January 2005.
An accomplished and low handicap golfer he was also a ne cricketer but his principal passion was military history. After a short spell on the Board of the Imperial War Museum he took on the role of Chairman of the Trustees of The Royal Green
CERTAINLY ‘ON DUTY’ DURING OFFICE HOURS, HE WAS COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON THE BUSINESS IN HAND AND EXPECTED EVERYONE ELSE TO BE SO AS WELL;
Jackets (Ri es) Museum a position he held for 16 years. Despite contracting Amyloidosis, a rare and debilitating illness, his dedication and diligence in researching, recording and displaying the heritage of The Royal Green Jackets culminated in the award winning and widely acclaimed exhibition ‘With The Ri es to Waterloo’ opened to coincide with the Bicen- tenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015. To create this exhibition, and in spite of several setbacks in his health, he secured a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £100k and then, in a major fund raising campaign, raised a further £300k virtually single handedly.
Many people regarded Christopher, with some trepidation; his reputation for hard work, expecting high standards and attention to detail went before him and put those who worked for him on their mettle. He had an uncanny knack of putting his nger on awed logic and decisions based on it – unnerving for those who worked for him, and occasionally deeply unsettling for those senior to him, for he was not in awe of rank and never lacked the moral courage to argue a point or highlight an inconsistency. Certainly ‘on duty’ during of ce hours, he was completely focused on the business in hand and expected everyone else to be so as well; but ‘off duty’ he was relaxed and entertaining with a sharp, some might say wicked, sense of humour. None in Celle at the 3 RGJ Battalion Show when he was Commanding Of cer will forget his duet in fancy dress with the RSM; ‘No two people have ever been so in love’ was the star turn of the evening, Chris- topher the boy, Rod Le Couilliard the girl.
In retirement Christopher’s enormous capacity for work saw many individuals and organisations enlist his help or ask him to take up an executive appointment and add his weight to their cause. He was an in u- ential member of several museum networks and educational bodies and closely involved with his local Church and Winchester Cathedral. A great supporter of both Regiments in which he had served he was President of the KRRC Association and of The Celer et Audax (Of cers) Club.
There is no doubt that Christopher Wallace was a remarkable man who could on occasions be formidable and intimidating, but he was also kind, compassionate and generous, a person who could be relied upon to help or offer guidance if asked no matter the time and effort it might require of him. He was a truly ne Ri eman.
Christopher Wallace was born on 3rd January 1943 and died on 7 January 2016 whilst undergoing chemotherapy. In 1969 he married Delicia Curtis who survives him with their son and their daughter. Vere Hayes
BUT ‘OFF DUTY’ HE WAS RELAXED AND ENTERTAINING WITH A SHARP, SOME MIGHT SAY WICKED, SENSE OF HUMOUR
THE RIFLES
REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS 233