Fursdon , (Francis William) Edward , 1925-2007 , Major General

Born 1925, educated Westminster School, enlisted Royal Engineers, 1942; Royal Engineers course, Birmingham University, 1943; served in ranks 1943-1944; commissioned 1945; Royal West African Frontier Force serving in India, Burma and Gold Coast; BSc, Royal Military College of Science; staff and regimental duty in UK, Singapore, Canal Zone and Cyprus; Staff College, Camberley, 1955; Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General, 19 Infantry Brigade, UK and Port Said, Suez, 1956; General Staff Officer 2, Royal Engineers School of Infantry, 1958-1960; Joint Services Staff College, 1960; Officer Commanding, 34 Independent Field Squadron, East Africa and Kuwait, 1961; Instructor, Staff College, Camberley, 1962; Second in Command, 38 Engineers Regiment; Admin, Staff College, Henley; Lieutenant Colonel, 1967; Commanding Officer, 25 Engineer Regiment, British Army of the Rhine, 1967-1969; Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General, Headquarters, Land Forces, Gulf, 1970-1971; Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, Land Forces, 1971; Colonel (Quartering), Headquarters, British Army of the Rhine, 1972-1973; Service Fellow, Aberdeen University, 1974; Director of Defence Policy (Europe and NATO), Ministry of Defence, 1974-1977; Director, Military Assistance (Overseas) Office, 1977-1980; MLitt, University of Aberdeen, 1978; DLitt, Leiden University, 1979; Military Advisor to Governor of Rhodesia and later Senior British Officer, Zimbabwe, 1980; Defence and Military Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph, 1980-1986; Correspondent, Army Quarterly and Defence Journal, 1985-2000; Royal Navy Correspondent, Navy International, 1991-1994; Contributing Editor Europe, Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, 1989-1994; UK Armed Forces Correspondent, Salut (South Africa), 1995-2000; Special Correspondent, South Africa Soldier, 2001-2006; died Jan 2007.

Publications: Grains of Sand: a book of verse from Arabia, (Oxted, Surrey, 1971); There are no Frontiers: a book of verse from Europe, (Oxted, Surrey, 1973); The European Defence Community: A History, (MacMillan, London, 1980); Falklands Aftermath: picking up the pieces, (Cooper, London, 1988).