Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Julian Howard Atherden Thompson, CB, OBE (born 7 October 1934) is a military historian and former Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 officer who, as a brigadier, commanded 3 Commando Brigade

3 Commando Brigade

3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...

 during the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

.

Military career

Thompson joined the Royal Marines in 1952. He was appointed Commanding Officer of 40 Commando

40 Commando

40 Commando RM is a battalion sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....

 in 1975 and Commander of 3 Commando Brigade

3 Commando Brigade

3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...

 in 1981 and in that role was British land commander on the islands during the first phase of the conflict ashore. He retired in 1986.

In retirement he has written extensively on the Falklands conflict and other aspects of British military history including the Iraq War. He is also a visiting professor at the department of War Studies, King's College, University of London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

.

Works

• No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands, 200pp, Pen & Sword
• History of the Parachute Regiment
• The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Burma 1942-45, Sidgwick & Jackson
• The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force, Sidgwick & Jackson 699 pages. ISBN 0-283-06315-7
• "Dunkirk"
• "The 1916 Experience-Verdun and the Somme"
• Call To Arms, Great Military Speeches (London, 2009)