“The Soldiers General” - Lieutenant General Sir George Lea
Rupert Hague-Holmes SpeakerNet Sponsor
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Regular (more than one month's notice)
- Fee:
- Paid
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 27th July 2025
- Tagged:
- Leadership | Special Air Service | Borneo | Malayan Emergency
This talk accompanies my recent book about Lea. It charts the career of this lesser known counter-insurgency specialist. Lea was a battalion commander at the Battle of Arnhem and after being released from captivity at the end of WW2, thought his Army career was over. He was plucked from obscurity to take command of 22 SAS then fighting the Communist terrorists in the Malayan jungle in 1955. He led the team that created the standards and operational excellence for which the SAS is now world famous and played a major role in keeping the SAS in the British Army Order of Battle, post the Malaya Emergency.
The talk also looks at his role as Director of Operations in Borneo, a role for which he received a knighthood, a rare accolade for a Major General. It’s a story about leadership, laughter and love.
Views: 10 | Enquiries: 0About Rupert Hague-Holmes
Born into a military family, Rupert has had a life long passion for military history. He is a regular speaker at London clubs, military history festivals and societies, including the Chalke Valley History Festival, and U3A groups. He speaks on a diverse range of military history topics, mainly on post WW2 conflicts involving the British Army. All of my talks are illustrated by slides.
With a degree in Law & Politics from Durham University, Rupert qualified as a lawyer and spent over thirty years working in London, the Midlands and the Channel Islands in law firms and the financial services industry.
Now semi-retired, and living in Jersey, Channel Islands, Rupert’s first book “The Soldiers General: The biography of Lieutenant General Sir George Lea” was published by Barnthorn Publishing In March 2025.
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