Stanier, John 1925-2007 (John Wilfred Stanier)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born October 6, 1925, in Essex, England; died November 10, 2007. Military commander and author. Stanier was a career officer in the British Army from 1946 until his retirement as field marshal near forty years later. During this long and distinguished career, he commanded the Royal Scots Greys, and served as commander in chief of the British Land Forces, chief of general staff of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and colonel commandant of the Royal Armoured Corps. He was aide de camp general to the queen from 1981 to 1985. Stanier achieved these military heights in a peacetime army, without having served in combat during World War II. Instead, he proved his mettle in dealing with defense activities related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a threat of Soviet aggression in Europe in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1970s Stanier was the commandant of the Army Staff College at Camberley and led the first delegation from Camberley to visit a Soviet military academy in Moscow. He retired from active service in 1985. Stanier then chaired the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies from 1986 to 1989, and served as constable of the Tower of London from 1990 to 1996. Stanier's service to his country was recognized when he was decorated a knight commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978 and elevated to knight grand cross in 1982. In the 1960s Stanier headed the army's public relations department in London, where he learned how to deal with the news media and also acquired a respect for the power of the press to influence public opinion. He taught military spokespersons to be cautious of their words when making public statements and emphasized the importance of factual accuracy and an attitude of self-confidence. He was the author of two books with Miles Hudson: Conflict and the Media in the Twentieth Century (1997) and War and the Media: A Random Searchlight (1998).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), November 13, 2007, p. 59.