Denis Ormerod

British Army officer
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroBritish Army officer
PlacesUnited Kingdom Great Britain
wasMilitary personnel
Work fieldMilitary
Gender
Male
Birth1923, Ireland, Ireland
Death11 February 2005High Halden, United Kingdom (aged 82 years)
Education
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Awards
Commander of the Order of the British Empire 
The details

Biography

Denis Leonard Ormerod CBE (17 February 1922 – 11 February 2005) was a career soldier in the British Army.

He was appointed Brigadier Ulster Defence Regiment in July 1971. He was the first Roman Catholic commander of the regiment which was drawn mainly from the Protestant community of Northern Ireland.

Early life and military career

Ormerod was educated at Downside School in Somerset. He joined the army in 1940 and was commissioned into the British Indian Army, following which he served in Malaya, India, Italy, and Greece with the Gurkhas, eventually reaching the rank of Major. He also served in Malaya and Palestine during internal security operations in the post war period.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Whether or not it was a conscious decision on the part of the British Ministry of Defence was not known but he acknowledged that his religion helped him establish a rapport with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in Northern Ireland.

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