Ian Freer (British Army officer)

Major-General Ian Lennox Freer CB CBE (born (1941-05-18)18 May 1941[1]) is a former British Army officer who commanded 5th Division.

Ian Freer
Born	18 May 1941 (1941-05-18) (age 79)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	Wales and Western District 5th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Operation Banner
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Military career

Freer was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, then attended Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[1] He was commissioned into the Staffordshire Regiment in 1961.[2] He was appointed Chief of British Mission to Soviet Forces in Europe in 1989 and then served as Commander Land Forces in Northern Ireland from 1991 to 1994 during the troubles.[3] He went on to be General Officer Commanding Wales and Western District in 1994 and General Officer Commanding 5th Division in 1995 before retiring in 1996.[4]

He was also given the colonelcy of the Staffordshire Regiment from 1990 to 1995.[5]

On his retirement in 1996 he settled in Melbourne, Australia, and became chairman of Ocean Software.[6]

References

1. FREER, Maj. Gen. Ian Lennox, Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, 2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2015)
2. "No. 42480". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 October 1961. p. 7196.
3. Michael Evans, Security squads join forces, The Times, 1 July 1992
4. Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
5. "The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
6. Ocean Software: Leadership team

Military offices
Preceded by Michael Regan	General Officer Commanding Wales and Western District 1994–1995	Succeeded by Post disbanded
Preceded by Division Reformed (Post last held by Mervyn Janes)	General Officer Commanding the 5th Division 1995–1996	Succeeded by Robin Searby