Frank King ( British Army officer ) General Sir Frank Douglas King GCB MBE ( 9 March 1919 – 30 March 1998 ) was a British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding ( GOC ) of the British Army in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles . He held a number of other senior posts in the British Army , having begun his military career in the ranks during the Second World War . Early life and Second World War . King was born on 9 March 1919 in Brightwell , which was then in Berkshire , where his parents , Arthur and Kate King , were farmers . He was educated at Wallingford Grammar School , and but for the outbreak of the Second World War would have carried on the family farm . Initially in the ranks of a Territorial Army unit , he was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers as a second lieutenant on 4 July 1940 . Now a war substantive lieutenant , he briefly transferred to the Royal Fusiliers from 14 June 1941 , and then to the Reconnaissance Corps on 15 July , and finally to the Parachute Regiment on 19 October 1943 . He participated in Operation Market Garden , and was wounded and taken prisoner of war at Arnhem . Post - war . King was selected for staff training , and was one of the first students to pass through the Royal Military College of Science , Shrivenham Technical Staff course in 1946 ; he was then granted a regular commission as a lieutenant in the Wiltshire Regiment on 22 February 1947 ( with seniority from 7 November 1941 ) , and he was subsequently promoted to captain from the same date ( with seniority from 1 July 1946 ) . 1947 also saw his marriage to Joy Emily Ellen Taylor - Lane . In 1950 he passed the General Staff course at Staff College , Camberley , he also qualified as pilot , He was promoted major on 7 May 1953 ( with seniority from 9 March 1953 ) . For two years prior to this he had served as a General Staff Officer Grade II in the Infantry Directorate at the War Office , working on standardisation of infantry weapons with his Belgian , Canadian and American counterparts , this work led to his appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) in the 1953 Coronation Honours . He transferred back to the Parachute Regiment on 31 May 1958 , serving as second - in - command of the 1st battalion . After a brief spell as Assistant Military Secretary at the War Office , he was promoted to lieutenant - colonel on 1 April 1960 , and became commanding officer of 2nd Battalion , The Parachute Regiment , based in Cyprus and Bahrain , and also during its participation in the British intervention in Kuwait . King was promoted colonel on 10 December 1962 , and then commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade group , based at Minden in Germany , from 1963 – 65 . He became Military Adviser ( Overseas Equipment ) in the Ministry of Defence in 1965 , and was promoted brigadier on 17 December 1965 , continuing in the same role for the rest of 1966 . On 1 January 1967 he was promoted Major - General and appointed Director , Land / Air Warfare , and Commandant of the Army Air Corps . On 5 August 1968 he became Director , Military Assistance Overseas , back at the Ministry of Defence , stepping down on 15 May 1969 . He was then appointed Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science on 10 July 1969 , and in the 1971 New Year Honours was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) , he relinquished the post on 1 October 1971 . It was widely expected that given his technical background he would become Master - General of the Ordnance ; but his command experience was equally strong and as a result , on promotion to lieutenant - general on 1 November 1971 ( with seniority from 2 February 1971 ) , he was appointed General Officer Commanding - in - Chief , Army Strategic Command , and in the 1972 New Year Honours was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) . The home commands were abolished in 1972 , and so on 1 April King became Deputy Commander - in - Chief UK Land Forces , subordinate to General Sir Basil Eugster , the Commander - in - Chief , he stepped down on 15 January 1973 . 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 " , though it also notes that he himself would be happy to attribute much of the preparatory work to Tuzo ( who has been described in similar terms ) . 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 . " He was replaced in the post by Lieutenant - General Sir David House on 1 August 1975 . 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 relinquished his appointment on 30 September 1978 , 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 . Following his retirement from the army , he served as a director and company chairman for a variety of firms , was chairman of the Arnhem Veterans ' Association , and kept in close contact with the Parachute Regiment . He died on 30 March 1998 , and was honoured with a memorial service at the Royal Garrison Church , Aldershot Garrison on 8 June 1998 . References .