John Slim, 2nd Viscount Slim
Colonel John Douglas Slim, 2nd Viscount Slim OBE, DL, FRGS (born 20 July 1927) is a British peer and soldier. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, elected to remain after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. In 1970, he succeeded to his father's title. He sits as a crossbencher.
The son of the 1st Viscount Slim, he was educated at Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College in Dehra Dun in India. In 1944, Slim joined the British Indian Army 6th Gurkha Rifles and was transferred to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1948. He entered the Special Air Service in 1952. From 1961, he was instructor at the Staff College, Camberley, and from 1964 at the Joint Services Staff College. In 1972, he retired from the armed forces at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel with a later honorary promotion to Colonel. He was appointed OBE the following year.
Slim was chairman of Peek plc from 1976 to 1991, deputy chairman from 1991 to 1996, and eventually consultant from 1996 to 2003. He was further director of Trailfinders travel company and Trustee of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL). Since 1971, he is president of Burma Star Association and since 2000 president of SAS Association. He is also Patron of Prospect Burma, a London based charity that offers higher education scholarships to Burmese students. Having been chairman in the past, he is now vice-president of the Britain-Australia Society. From 1977 to 1996, he was vice-chairman of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce. In 1983, Slim was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Between 1995 and 1996, he was also Master of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers. He serves as an honorary chairman of The OSS Society.
Since 1958, he has been married to Elisabeth Spinney. They have two sons, including his heir apparent Mark William Rawdon Slim, and one daughter.
[edit] References
- "DodOnline". http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=81&biog=y&id=27101. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
- "SpecialOperations.com". http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/United_Kingdom/SAS/John_Slim.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
[edit] External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Slim
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Joseph Slim |
Viscount Slim 1970–present |
Incumbent |
| This biography of a viscount in the peerage of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1927 births
- Living people
- Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London
- Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- British Indian Army officers
- Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers
- Special Air Service officers
- Peerage of the United Kingdom viscount stubs