Major General Mike Swindells

Written by: Warwick Morris  |  Posted on: November 1st, 2015

Major General Mike Swindells

The tragic death was reported on 14 October of Major General GMG Swindells CB, drowned at the age of 85 while swimming in the sea in Italy during a holiday with his wife, Prue.

General Mike was well known to many in British-Korean circles, most recently as the last President, from 2006 until the end of 2014, of The British Korean Veterans Association (BKVA). At the start of his distinguished military career he served in Korea in 1951-52 as a young officer with the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, commanding a troop of four tanks. He went on to hold a range of senior appointments in London and Bonn, also serving in Aden, Cyprus, Singapore and Brunei.

Following retirement from active service in 1985 he was, among other things, Controller of the Army Benevolent Fund and Chairman of the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Mike when I was Ambassador in Seoul and he visited Korea with other British veterans. Later I had much to do with him in the UK in connection with the BKVA, when he played a key role in the successful project to establish a Korean War Memorial along the Embankment. Also a supporter of the British Korean Society, he was made an Honorary Member, with his wife, in 2014. Our heartfelt condolences go to Prue and the rest of his family.

One Response

  1. […] My brother-in-law Maj Gen Michael Swindells has drowned while swimming off the coast of the Italian island of Elba, aged 85. The army and his family were Mike’s life. Son of George and Marjory Swindells, Mike was born in Bollington, Cheshire, and after education at Rugby school was commissioned in the Fifth Royal Inniskilling Guards as a national service officer. On demobilisation he joined the family textile business. However, he did not find that fulfilling and foreseeing the demise of the Manchester textile industry decided to rejoin his regiment. He later commanded a troop of four tanks during the Korean war. […]

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