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Nick Welch (British Army officer)

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Nick Welch
Brigadier Welch in 2011
Borncirca 1964[1]
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1984–2018
RankMajor General
Commands7 Armoured Brigade
1st Battalion, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Battles / warsBosnian War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsQueen's Commendation for Valuable Service

Nicholas Welch (born c. 1964) is a retrospectively dismissed British Army major general who served as the Assistant Chief of the General Staff. In March 2021 he became the highest ranked British officer to be convicted at a court martial in over 200 years.[2]

Military career

[edit]

Welch was commissioned into the Gloucestershire Regiment on 20 April 1984.[3] His deployments included Berlin, Northern Ireland and Belize.[4]

Welch became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment in 2002 and,[5] having been promoted to colonel on 30 June 2006,[6] he became commander of 7 Armoured Brigade based in Bergen-Hohne, Germany in March 2009.[7] He was deployed with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as the deputy commander of Regional Command (South West) in Afghanistan in September 2011,[8] and briefly served as Deputy Director of Strategic Studies in the Ministry of Defence before becoming Director Army Division at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in August 2012.[9] He went on to be Chief of Staff, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in July 2014,[7] and Assistant Chief of the General Staff in December 2015.[10][11]

Welch was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service for service in the former Yugoslavia in March 2005.[12] He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours[13] and promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours.[14] The award of the OBE was annulled and cancelled in August 2023.[15]

After leaving the army, Welch became Chief Operating Officer of Arts University Bournemouth.[16]

In 2020, Welch became the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815 over accusations that he fraudulently claimed monetary expenses.[17] He was found guilty of fraud in March 2021,[18] sentenced to 21 months in a civilian prison[19] and retrospectively dismissed from the army.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Morris, Steven (25 March 2021). "Senior army officer convicted of £48,000 Dorset boarding school fee fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ Brown, Larisa. "Major general convicted of fraud over £48,000 claim for private school fees". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  3. ^ "No. 49813". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 July 1984. p. 10102.
  4. ^ "Shedhead Major General returns to Gloucestershire as chief of staff for ARRC – with one eye on Gloucester vs Bath". Gloucester Citizen. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Why do regiments matter?". BBC. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  6. ^ "No. 58034". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 2006. p. 9061.
  7. ^ a b "Senior Army appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Brigadier General Nick Welch steps into top Afghanistan role". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Major General Nick Welch". Corenet. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Annual Newsletter" (PDF). Regimental Association of The Rifles and The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  12. ^ "No. 57588". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 2005. p. 3372.
  13. ^ "No. 56070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2000. p. 6.
  14. ^ "No. 57855". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2005. p. 5.
  15. ^ "No. 64152". The London Gazette. 23 August 2023. p. 16878.
  16. ^ "University pledges action after senior officer's fraud conviction". Times Higher Education. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Civilians may be called up to court martial of Major General Nick Welch". The Times. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  18. ^ Brown, Faye (25 March 2021). "Major General found guilty of swindling £48,000 to pay for kids' boarding school". Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Major general jailed for Dorset school fees fraud". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  20. ^ "No. 63351". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 18 May 2021. p. 8884.
Military offices
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the General Staff
2015–2018 		Succeeded by
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