James Bashall

[3] By 2002 he had become Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment[4] serving in Afghanistan.

[5] He commanded 1st Mechanized Brigade[6] based in Basra in Southern Iraq during Operation Telic in 2007.

[7] He was appointed Director Army Division of the Defence Academy at Shrivenham in January 2009[2] and went on to be Chief of Joint Force Operations in December 2009:[8] in this capacity he masterminded the covert Special Air Service rescue operations across war-torn Libya in early 2011.

[13] Bashall was appointed as the National President of the Royal British Legion in May 2019.

[14] When appointed, Bashall said "It is an honour to be appointed as the National President of The Royal British Legion, a charity with an esteemed history, and one that plays a vital role in today’s Armed Forces community.

Bashall at the 75th anniversary of D-Day service in 2019