General Sir Michael John Wilkes, KCB, CBE (11 June 1940 – 27 October 2013) was a British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1993 to 1995.
The son of an Artillery officer, Michael John Wilkes was born in Steep, Hampshire, on 11 June 1940 and educated at King's School, Rochester, where he played rugby for the 1st XV.
He also set up a robust liaison system linking the SAS commander to the police, the security services and the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (Cobra).
In an increasingly turbulent world, other countries began to request help from Britain in developing their own specialised units to counter terrorism and to provide VIP protection.
[4][5] Wilkes was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1980 New Year Honours,[6] was made commander of 22 Armoured Brigade in 1984[2] and became Director SAS in 1986.