Simon Mayall

{{Infobox military person

|name= Sir Simon Mayall

|image= SimonMayall.jpg

|image_size=

|alt=

|caption= Simon Mayall in Hohenfels, Germany in 2008

|nickname=

|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1956|03|07|df=yes}}

|birth_place=

|death_date=

|death_place=

|placeofburial=

|allegiance= United Kingdom

|branch= British Army

|serviceyears= 1979–2015

|rank=Lieutenant General

|servicenumber=

|unit=

|commands= 1st Mechanised Brigade
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

|battles= Gulf War
Kosovo War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan

|awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

Lieutenant General Sir Simon Vincent Mayall, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KBE|CB}} (born 7 March 1956) is a retired British Army officer and a Middle East Adviser at the Ministry of Defence.

Early life

Mayall was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, Balliol College, Oxford (Bachelor of Arts in Modern History, 1979) and King's College London (Master of Arts in International Relations).

Military career

Mayall was commissioned into the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars in 1979.[https://www.sandhurstfoundation.org/events/leadership-encounters/Leadership-Encounter-Evening-Tues-5-Feb.htm Sandhurst Foundation] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121228101645/https://www.sandhurstfoundation.org/events/leadership-encounters/Leadership-Encounter-Evening-Tues-5-Feb.htm |date=28 December 2012 }} From 1985 to 1988 he was seconded to the Sultan of Oman's Land Forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/KFOR/structur/whoswho/cv/bio_mayall.htm|title=KFOR: Basic Information|work=nato.int|accessdate=9 September 2015}} He was operations officer for the 1st Armoured Division in the Gulf War. After that he completed a Defence Fellowship at St Antony's College, Oxford studying Turkish security policy. He then became Commanding Officer of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in 1997, in which capacity he was deployed to the British Army Training Unit Suffield and to Northern Ireland.

In 2001 Mayall became Commander of 1st Mechanised Brigade, which was subsequently deployed to Kosovo.{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/KFOR/docu/inside/2002/ik_020501a.htm|title=KFOR: Inside KFOR|work=nato.int|accessdate=9 September 2015}} He received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in recognition of his "distinguished services" on the deployment.{{London Gazette|issue=56920|date=29 April 2003|page=5273|supp=y}} Mayall was the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps – Iraq in late 2006 and early 2007, for which he was awarded an Officer of the Legion of Merit by the United States.{{London Gazette|issue=58396|date=19 July 2007|page=10416|supp=y}} He was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff in January 2007 and, in 2009, became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations).Whitaker's Almanack 2010 He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2010 New Year Honours,{{London Gazette |issue=59282 |date=31 December 2009 |page=2 |supp=y }} and made Defence Senior Advisor Middle East at the Ministry of Defence in May 2011.[https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/service-appointments-royal-navy-and-royal-marines-cb90wgzdj0g Service Appointments] The Times, 8 June 2011 He was replaced in that role by Lieutenant General Tom Beckett in late 2014,[https://www.thetimes.com/article/service-appointments-army-glqb6bkvpqg Service appointments] The Times, 1 February 2014 having been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 Birthday Honours.{{London Gazette |issue=60895 |date=14 June 2014 |page=b6 |supp=y}}{{cite news|title=Queen's birthday honours list 2014: Military|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/13/queens-birthday-honours-military|accessdate=13 June 2014|work=The Guardian|date=13 June 2014}}

Post-retirement

In 2015, Mayall retired from military service and joined Greenhill & Co., an investment bank, as a senior advisor.{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sir-simon-mayall-joins-greenhill-as-senior-advisor-in-london-300139147.html|title=Sir Simon Mayall Joins Greenhill as Senior Advisor in London|author=Greenhill & Co., Inc.|date=8 September 2015|agency=PR Newswire|accessdate=9 September 2015}} On 25 February 2015, he was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London.{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=61158|page=3810|date=2 March 2015}} He retired from that post on 20 August 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3871479|title=Crown Office | The Gazette|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}}

He was appointed King of Arms of the Order of the British Empire in May 2024,{{London Gazette |issue=64397 |page=9430 |date=15 May 2024}} and Squadron Honorary Colonel F (Westminster Dragoons) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry on 1 December 2024.{{London Gazette|issue=64628|page=503|date=14 January 2025|supp=y}}