Forces chief: Tragedy of my hero
THE head of the Armed Forces yesterday said it would be a ‘tragedy’ if his military hero was to die before his name is cleared.
General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, was speaking about 91-year-old General Sir Frank Kitson. Sir Frank was a commander in Ulster during the Troubles, and was awarded a CBE for his ‘gallant’ service there.
But in 015 he was told he was being sued over the murder of Patrick Eugene Heenan, a Roman Catholic killed by loyalists in 1973. The civil action was put forward by the dead man’s family but Sir Frank has said he was not even in the country when he died.
Sir Nick said: ‘One of my military heroes … is Sir Frank. It would be tragic if he were to pass without his name being cleared.’
Sir Frank served in Oman, Malaya, and in Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising, for which he won the Military Cross in 1955. He was in charge of UK land forces from 198 to 1985.