Desmond Fitzpatrick General Sir Geoffrey Richard Desmond Fitzpatrick , GCB , GCVO , DSO , MBE , MC ( 14 December 1912 – 12 October 2002 ) was a senior British Army officer who served as commander of the British Army of the Rhine and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe . After his retirement from the army he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jersey and later held a ceremonial position in the Royal Household . Early life . Fitzpatrick was born on 14 December 1912 in Aldershot , the son of Sir Richard Fitzpatrick , a Brigadier - General . He attended Eton College and then the Royal Military College Sandhurst , and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st The Royal Dragoons on 1 September 1932 . He was promoted lieutenant three years later . In 1938 , his regiment was sent to Palestine to suppress the 1936 – 1939 Arab revolt in Palestine , and on 22 December 1939 Fitzpatrick received the Military Cross for his role in operations there . Second World War . Fitzpatrick was promoted captain on 1 September 1940 . In 1941 , his regiment was dispatched to Syria , with him as adjutant , to join Operation Exporter , the allied invasion of territory controlled by Vichy France in the Middle East . Fitzpatrick ' s regiment then participated in the Western Desert Campaign , in the reconnaissance role . After the operations there , he attended the British staff college at Haifa , and in June 1942 he became brigade major of the 2nd Armoured Brigade , where he helped to plan the Second Battle of El Alamein . After the battle , by which time he was a temporary major , Fitzpatrick was Mentioned in Despatches on 24 June 1943 , and later appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire , announced in the " London Gazette " in October 1943 . By now he was an acting lieutenant colonel . The recommendation for the MBE credits his planning for he successful deployment of 2nd Armoured Brigade during the battle , and also comments on his " personal example , often under heavy shell fire " while at the Tactical HQ during the battle itself , from where he passed back valuable information to the higher - level formations which had a material effect on the outcome of the battle . Fitzpatrick next served as a staff officer with the US First Corps and in a position at the War Office , before rejoining his regiment in Holland in 1944 and taking command of one of its squadron s . In 1945 , he took command of the 8th King ' s Royal Irish Hussars , which served as the reconnaissance regiment of the 7th Armoured Division . While commanding the regiment , Fitzpatrick helped capture the heavily - defended town of Tostedt , personally leading several reconnaissance missions . Fitzpatrick ' s regiment also liberated the concentration camp at Fallingbostel , freeing 10 , 000 allied prisoners of war and 12 , 000 other prisoners . His regiment also liberated the Bergen - Belsen concentration camp . For his leadership during this period , by which time he was a temporary lieutenant colonel , he was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order on 14 July 1945 . Post - war career . After the war , Fitzpatrick finally received substantive to promotion to major on 1 July 1946 , and held several staff assignments and became an instructor at the Staff College , Camberley . He was promoted brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1951 , and then assumed command of the 1st Royal Dragoons in the Suez Canal Zone . He received substantive promotion to lieutenant colonel on 8 October 1952 and to colonel on 31 December 1953 ( having held the rank on a temporary basis for a period before that ) . In 1957 , he became the Chief of Staff of the 1st Corps with the rank of temporary brigadier . On 20 February 1959 , he was appointed an Aide - de - Camp to the Queen , and later in the year , Lord Mountbatten of Burma selected Fitzpatrick to serve as the first Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff . He took up the post on 29 October 1959 , with the temporary rank of major general , and the rank was made substantive on 11 December 1959 . In this position , Fitzpatrick became known as a " master tactician in the corridors of power " and distinguished himself as an expert in both the political and military realms , he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1961 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , and relinquished the post on 28 October 1961 . As a result of his success , he became Director of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence in 1962 . In that role , he helped prepare the British intelligence estimate for the Cuban Missile Crisis and played an important role in various defence policy debates , including those over the Polaris Missile . He relinquished the post on 14 February 1964 . On 25 March 1964 , he became the Chief of Staff of the British Army of the Rhine and General Officer Commanding Rhine Army Troops . Then on 24 April 1965 , he was promoted to temporary lieutenant general and became General Officer Commanding - in - Chief Northern Ireland Command , the rank was made substantive on 4 June 1965 . He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1965 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , by which time , and he had also been appointed honorary colonel of the Royals . He left Northern Ireland on 9 July 1966 , and succeeded Geoffrey Baker as Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 25 July . Next , on 1 May 1968 he relinquished that post , and on 10 July he was given the local rank of general and appointed to command the British Army of the Rhine and the NATO Northern Army Group , his rank became substantive on 1 October . During his time with the Northern Army Group , Fitzpatrick became well respected among his NATO colleagues " for his intellectual capabilities and for his finesse in dealing with international problems " and acquired a reputation as a soldier with particular skill for diplomacy . He relinquished the colonelcy of the Royals on 29 March 1969 when the regiment was almalgamated into the Blues and Royals , becoming deputy colonel of the new regiment until 9 December 1974 . He was appointed ADC ( General ) on 9 January 1970 . Because of his skill and good reputation , Fitzpatrick appointment as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( DSACEUR ) was announced in April 1970 , he took up the post on 1 December 1970 , and was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1971 New Year Honours . He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Armoured Corps on 1 April 1971 . He served as DSACEUR until 12 November 1973 , and retired from the Army on 26 January 1974 . Retirement . After retiring , Fitzpatrick was appointed to a five - year term Lieutenant Governor of Jersey , beginning in 1974 . He was appointed Colonel of the Blues and Royals ( Gold Stick ) on 17 December 1979 and held the post until 1998 . He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1997 New Year Honours . He died on 12 October 2002 at the age of 89 .