The Oldie is very sad to hear the news of the passing of Sir General Mike Jackson at aged 80. The General was a good friend of The Oldie's and attended many an Oldie of The Year Awards Luncheon. He was always great company.
Listen above to a very special Oldie podcast, commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the capture of General Kreipe by Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor in May 1944. Hear from Paddy Leigh Fermor himself. Harry Bucknall also interviews General Sir Michael Jackson about the kidnap.
We remember Sir General Mike Jackson with some wonderful photographs below from The Oldie of The Year luncheons, all photos were taken by Neil Spence Photography.
Announcing Sir Mike's death, the British Army said he would be "greatly missed, and long remembered".
Sir General Mike Jackson joined the army when he was 19, born into a military family. He learnt Russian in the Intelligence Corps at the height of the Cold War. He famously refused to start a "Third World War" to US commander General Wesley Clark in 1999 when they entered Kosovo without Nato's agreement.
Known as Sir Mike or Jacko, he fought in the Bosnian and Iraq wars, and was known as a charismatic and brave General.
He became head of the British Army just a month before the Iraq war began, replacing Gen Sir Michael Walker.
Sir Mike will be sadly missed.
