Hamish Rollo joined the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment at the same time as the rest of us who were around from the start; on 1^st July 2006.  The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment, the King’s Regiment and the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment had recognised that the new Regiment would be brought together best under the guiding hand of a Colonel without allegiance to any of the antecedents, someone who would only have the best interests of the new Regiment at heart.  The choice of Colonel was natural.  Hamish Rollo had fortuitously commanded the regular battalions of all three former Regiments during his time as Commander 19 Mechanized Brigade and he had left a lasting impression on all three.  He had already developed a clear understanding of the dynamics and character of each, and he willingly accepted the overtures of the new Regiment to become its Colonel.

 He tackled his new Regimental responsibilities with vigour and characteristic aplomb.  A frequent visitor to the North West, and to the battalions, he had the vision required to define and shape the character of the new Regiment, steering it through its growing pains, but ever conscious of the sensitivities associated with the trauma of amalgamation.  He took great care to nurture the whole Regimental family including, importantly, the Old Comrades, Cadets and the local communities.  The former quickly came to view him as ‘their’ Colonel, a tribute to his undoubted powers of diplomacy and patience.  At its launch, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment was therefore well prepared to take its place in the order of battle.  Hamish Rollo subsequently continued to shape the Regiment’s destiny, working tirelessly to promote it to a wide audience.    He undoubtedly loved his Regiment, revelling in the warmth and character of its soldiers and in its many successes.  He took great pride in showing the Regiment off to Her Majesty the Queen and 3,500 guests in June 2008 when as Colonel in Chief, the Queen presented us with our first three stands of colours.

 It is no exaggeration to say that the Regiment is what it is today primarily because of his inspirational leadership.

 Hamish Rollo was born to David and Bridget Rollo in Schefferville, a mining town in Northern Quebec, Canada in 1955.  He came from a proud Scottish family whose roots could be traced, albeit tenuously back to the royal houses of Hanover, England and Scotland.  He was educated at Radley College and the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, although he did not complete his degree course, going instead straight to Sandhurst.  Nevertheless his military career had auspicious beginnings; he was famously one of four future generals in his Sandhurst Platoon.  He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers.

 From the first, Hamish Rollo was identifiable as an extremely high grade officer with an exceptional presence, infectious cheerfulness and as somebody who stood out in a crowd.  He was one of those rare people who combined a charming, relaxed manner with profound professional competence and an outgoing approach to command which made it easy to motivate his men who liked and respected him. Always prepared to challenge convention, he was at heart a pragmatist who liked to get the job done by taking people with him, which he invariably did; his men trusted his judgement knowing him to be an officer who got himself and them well organised. A modest man, he was personable, diplomatic and had a very engaging and relaxed social style.  His considerate and unassuming touch was infectious and ensured that he was widely respected and admired.

 As a Squadron Commander he commanded 3 Field Squadron Royal Engineers where he demonstrated the presence and flair that enabled him to do things effectively and with a degree of style that others found difficult to match.  His sure touch with all ranks and natural leadership, combined with a charming and forthcoming personality, considerable professional ability and a well developed sense of fun, gave him the knack of getting people to work for him with a will.

 He deployed on Operation GRANBY, the first Gulf War, in November 1990 and had independent command of engineer support to the Force Logistics Organisation. A short tour as an instructor followed. On promotion to lieutenant colonel he spent two years working in the concepts and development area before taking over command of 22 Engineer Regiment in January 1995. His time in command culminated in an operational tour in Bosnia with his Regiment for the second half of the IFOR deployment.  His sense of humour and fun, coupled with high professional standards, made him a very fine regimental commander and he galvanized his Regiment with his outstanding leadership and professionalism, and with great empathy with those under his command.

 He was appointed Chief of Staff of Headquarters 3 (UK) Division in January 1997, a post which he held for three years and which included deployments to Bosnia in HQ Multi-National Division (South West) and to Kosovo in HQ British Forces.  His evident integrity, his enormous capacity for work and his utter decency meant that he enjoyed the respect and goodwill of all who knew and worked with him.  He was a fair minded, wise man of well developed judgement, notably intelligent and quick but also with a nice touch of unorthodoxy and flair; an intrinsically creative bent. This deft, considerate touch was underpinned by suitable steeliness, although this was nicely complemented by his sense of fun and balance.

 On promotion to brigadier, he attended the Higher Command and Staff Course in January 2000 and took over command of 19 Mechanized Brigade in April of that year.  A large man in every respect, he again demonstrated his naturally inclusive command style and it was clear that his commanding officers and staff instinctively looked to him for leadership, and enjoyed his involvement in their affairs.

 In 2001 he assumed command of the Multi-National Brigade (Centre) in Kosovo where he showed the same infectious energy that imbued his team with natural, engaging and professional enthusiasm.  His natural authority enabled him to be incisive and robust when necessary and his command over three Nordic battalions demonstrated an impressive deftness of approach and the sure confidence to succeed.  He had an intuitive feel for the political complexity, pressures and constraints associated with multi-national, inter-agency operations.

 On leaving command, he was posted to the Permanent Joint Headquarters as Assistant Chief of Staff J5 Plans in December 2001. The ensuing two years involved him in planning for operations in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, the Congo and Iraq.  These presented salutary and probably unprecedented challenges; as the lead planner he played a key role in planning the UK contribution to the US-led intervention in Iraq in 2003, on conclusion of which he was appointed CBE. Once again Hamish Rollo was at the heart of the response; by his leadership, judgement and personal example he dominated the planning process.  The stream of high quality papers which were produced under his guidance and, where necessary, by his pen were testament to his intelligence and judgement.  He brought ideal qualities to the task: self-possession, an unhurried but utterly convincing approach, his natural ebullience concealing both a hard edge and a penetrating intelligence.

 He joined the Joint Services Command and Staff College as Assistant Commandant (Land) in November 2003 and imparted his considerable military experience in a skilful and amusing manner, guiding his subordinates with aplomb.  He was appointed GOC Theatre Troops in November 2006.

 From the start of his appointment as Colonel of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in July 2006 he was open and welcoming about the character of the Regiment and its soldiers. He mixed easily across all ranks and was respected for his humanity, plain talking and sense of fun.  His calm, common sense approach, his detachment from the past and his feeling for what was right provided the new Regiment with a very steady hand on the tiller in the early months after the inevitable difficulties of amalgamation. He was always keen to engage with every part of the wide ranging Regimental family and visited on numerous occasions.  Although finding the tradition of being greeted by a Quarter Guard somewhat unusual given his Sapper background, he enjoyed any opportunity of engaging with the Kingsmen.  In fact more than one of his Regimental arrivals went other than expected. 

He visited the 2nd Battalion on Salisbury Plain in early July 2006, almost immediately after the formation of the Regiment.  His character was not so widely known at this point, so the Adjutant and Regimental Sergeant Major made a particular effort to be ready to receive him at Westdown Camp.  The intention was to meet him at the gate, then transport him up to the training area, where a Battalion photograph would be taken with the Colonel of the Regiment. 

In the best military tradition, the Adjutant was at the gate in plenty of time with the Regimental Sergeant Major, waiting for the inevitable staff car to arrive.  It was a Saturday morning, so traffic was light at the gate.  Shortly before the appointed hour, a tall figure in combat trousers, leather jacket and full-face helmet appeared on a sporty looking motorbike heading up towards the gate.  Naturally the first instinct of the Adjutant and the RSM was to chase this encumbrance away as quickly as possible.  As the RSM brought his pace stick into the aim and took a deep breath ready to launch into the biker, the latter halted and removed his helmet.  “Good morning RSM”, said General Hamish, “Am I early?”

 He was a particular fan of boxing and attended a number of matches. On one occasion he got into the ring to present the prizes to the winners and when bending to get between the ropes there was a loud ripping noise as his trousers split from one side to the other, to raucous cheers from the Kingsmen. Totally unconcerned, he laughed, calmly put up two fingers to the assembled audience and carried on as if nothing had happened, to more enthusiastic cheers! He will be fondly remembered by all ranks as an approachable, straightforward man, with a real ability to engage at all levels, with genuine concern for others and a strong sense of what was best for the future development of the Regiment.

 In addition to the early cohesion of the Regiment and its clear, self-assured identity, perhaps his greatest Regimental legacy is the very positive and very high public profile of the Regiment.  He stamped his authority straight away on the Regimental approach to the many civic events to which our 22 (shortly to be 23) Freedom cities and boroughs have invited us.  Above all he set the highest possible standard for the first visit of our Colonel-in-Chief when Her Majesty The Queen presented each battalion with its new colours.  It is not surprising that we were the first new Regiment to receive its colours.

 Hamish Rollo was the embodiment of the cliché, “He lived life to the full.”  He had natural inquisitiveness and wide interests outside the Army including windsurfing, golf, his motorcycle and woodwork.   Above all it was clear to the Regiment that he took the greatest pride in and drew enormous strength from his family, his wife Nicole and his two sons Andrew and Euan, all of whom survive him.

 Hamish Rollo can have no better tribute than the final words used by the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt when writing to Hamish on the occasion of his retirement, “…Your ability to detect where change is needed and to take it forward has been of tremendous benefit to the Army and will be the legacy which you leave behind.  There are many soldiers and officers, and their families, who will have benefited from your care.  Your many friends will miss you and wish you well.”