[2] On 14 July 1945, towards the end of World War II, Beckett was commissioned in the British Army as a second lieutenant of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1949 and granted the honorary rank of captain.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1974.
He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1987.
[7] Beckett received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University.