Major-General Keith Spacie CB OBE

Major General Keith Spacie CB OBE was born on June 21, 1935 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Frederick and Kathleen Spacie. He attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1954, before commissioning into the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment on July 29, 1955. His first experience of combat was being posted to Malaya to fight the "Communist Terrorists" of the MNLA, who wanted independence from the British Empire. In recognition of his service there, he was awarded a Mention in Despatches on September 30, 1958. At some point Spacie also served with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment on an 8 week tour of Aden, before being seconded to the Parachute Regiment in November 1958. His former Regiment was soon to be amalgamated to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment in 1960, a change that coincided with the end of National Service; Spacie left before the name change occurred. He completed his parachute jump training on course 480 which lasted from December 9, 1958 until January 16, 1959. There were two jumps from balloons and six from aircraft (Hastings and Beverley) made on this course. Spacie was in Aldershot until the summer of 1961, when he deployed to Bahrain for 8 months. On returning, he completed a NATO exercise in Greece before becoming an Adjutant at the Maida Barracks depot in Aldershot, a post he held into 1964. 

Then, in January 1964, Spacie was made the CO of 16th (Lincoln) Independent Company (V), a unit of TA Pathfinders. He commanded them until September 1965, when he joined the Staff College at Camberley. In 1966, he was chosen as the Company Commander of D Company, 3 PARA, a positioned he retained until 1968, completing exercises in Libya and Kenya . From 1968 to 1970, he was on the staff of the 16th Parachute Brigade as Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General. He returned to Sandhurst in 1970, initially as the Commander of Alamein Company, but then becoming a Chief Instructor. He undertook a course at the National Defence College at Latimer from October 1972, but was withdrawn in March 1973 to be appointed CO of 3 PARA from 1973 to 1975, a period which saw the Troubles' death toll exceed 1000 people for the first time. Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Spacie was awarded an OBE for the formational changes he introduced in Northern Ireland, which were widely praised and adopted. 

From May 1976 to September 1978, Spacie served first in defence planning and then as the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff at NATO's Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). Immediately after this, Spacie was an instructor back at the National Defence College in 1978-9, before being promoted to Brigadier in order to command 7th Field Force between December 1979 and January 1981. This was a BAOR Brigade which consisted of both TA and Regular troops, a challenge Spacie seemed to relish. In 1982, Spacie was promoted to Major General and posted to the Royal College of Defence Studies in Westminster. He served as Military Commissioner and Commander of British Forces in the Falklands Islands for 14 months between April 15, 1983 and June 16, 1984, beginning just a year after the war had ended and with the Islands still on high alert. Always a formidable runner, Spacie assumed the post of Director of Army Training on 17 December 1984. He continued in this role for the final three years of his military career between 1984 and 1987, and was awarded a CB just before retiring from the Army on August 1, 1987.

Keith’s first wife Valerie died 14 years ago and he subsequently married Clare who survives him. He will be especially remembered for his love of long distance running and in 2012 was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in his local area at the age of 77. He was also a member of the world's oldest running club, Thames Hare and Hounds.

Keith died on Sunday 16 October 2022. His funeral took place at St Mary’s Church in Guildford on Wednesday 2 November 2022.

A full list of his postings can be found attached to this page.