Nick Welch (British Army officer)

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Nick Welch
110504-M-LU710-110 (5703768125) (Welch cropped).jpg
Brigadier Welch in 2011
Borncirca 1964[1]
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1984–2018
RankMajor General
Commands held7 Armoured Brigade
1st Battalion, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Battles/warsBosnian War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

Nicholas Welch, OBE (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[]

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 in the 2001 New Year Honours[13] and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year Honours.[14] After leaving the army, Welch became Chief Operating Officer of Arts University Bournemouth.[15]

In 2020, Welch became the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815 over accusations that he fraudulently claimed monetary expenses.[16] He was found guilty of fraud in March 2021,[17] sentenced to 21 months in a civilian prison and retrospectively dismissed from the army.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ Morris, Steven; Agency (25 March 2021). "Senior army officer convicted of £48,000 Dorset boarding school fee fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ Editor, Larisa Brown, Defence. "Major general convicted of fraud over £48,000 claim for private school fees". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 March 2021.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  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. 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. 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. ^ "University pledges action after senior officer's fraud conviction". Times Higher Education. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Civilians may be called up to court martial of Major General Nick Welch". The Times. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  17. ^ Brown, Faye (25 March 2021). "Army major found guilty of swindling £48,000 to pay for kids' boarding school". Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Major general jailed for Dorset school fees fraud". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
Military offices
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the General Staff
2015–2018 		Succeeded by
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