Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Gray

Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Gray , who has died aged 78, combined wide operational experience and first-rate organisational skills with great energy and an exceptional gift for getting on with people; these qualities took him to within reach of the top rank in the Army. 

Lietenant-General Sir Michael Gray

In 1969, when he took command of 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment (1 Para), he was one of the youngest commanding officers in the Service. That autumn, his battalion found itself patrolling the Shankill and Falls Roads in Belfast.

Gray was in his element, and constantly engaged with the Unionist and Nationalist communities as well as with priests, policemen, media people and mayors. On one occasion the Rev Ian Paisley had gone to the Shankill Road with the aim of leading a march against a nearby Catholic enclave. Gray arrived to support his company commander, who was trying to get Paisley to call off the march.

Gray took Paisley into the Tennent St police station for “a friendly chat” and, a short time later, the pair emerged joking together; an ugly situation had been defused. Gray was appointed OBE at the end of his tour.

He was among the directing officers at the Staff College for two years before going to Germany as chief of staff to 1st Armoured Division. In 1976 he went to the Royal College of Defence Studies. Gray then took command of 16 Parachute Brigade, which was redesignated as the UK mobile force with an operational role guarding the flanks of Nato.

In 1979 he went to the United States as the military attaché and Commander British Army Staff in Washington, DC. Never a respecter of bean counters or bureaucracy, when told that his annual party for all the exchange officers and their wives was no longer affordable, he replied: “Right, then we will hold it in Las Vegas — much cheaper there.”

He returned home on his appointment as GOC South-West England and Major-General United Kingdom Mobile Force. He became chief of staff Rhine Army and, in 1985, was promoted to lieutenant-general. He was knighted the following year.
Michael Stuart Gray, the son of an officer in the RNVR who was killed in 1940 fighting a fire aboard his ship, was born on May 3 1932 at Beverley, East Yorkshire. He was educated at Beverley Grammar School and Christ’s Hospital, Horsham, before going to Sandhurst.
After being commissioned into the East Yorkshire Regiment, he spent two years in the Malayan jungle during the Emergency. In 1955 he transferred to the Parachute Regiment and, after operational service in Cyprus, Suez and Jordan, became adjutant of 2 Para in Cyprus.
After an appointment to the staff of 16 Parachute Brigade, he saw further service in Bahrain, the Trucial States, Aden, the Radfan and Kenya. His final appointment was as GOC, HQ South-East District and Commander Joint Force HQ at Aldershot.
After retiring from the Army in 1988, he devoted his energies to business commitments, fundraising campaigns and a number of major projects. The concept of a museum at Pegasus Bridge originated in the early 1970s. Gray was fascinated by D-Day and the Normandy campaign, and played a leading part in finding the equipment and exhibits for display.
He was also closely involved in the restoration of the Merville Battery site, which 9 Para had captured in 1944, and his ingenuity and drive were tested to the full in bringing this scheme to fruition. He became chairman of the Airborne Assault Normandy Trust in 1978 and an Officer of the Légion d’honneur in 1994.
Among his many activities, he was Colonel Commandant, Parachute Regiment from 1990 to 1993 and Honorary Colonel 10 Para from 1984 to 1988. In retirement in Yorkshire he enjoyed photography, drawing and painting and continued to take a great interest in military museums and military history.
Mike Gray died on March 13. He married, in 1958, Juliette Noon, who survives him with their two sons and one daughter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/army-obituaries/8444071/Lieutenant-General-Sir-Michael-Gray.html