Major General (Retd) James Illingworth OBE

Former Director Land Warfare & Former Deputy Commander Joint Helicopter Command IMH 2025 Conference Chairman

James Illingworth retired from the British Army in 2022, having had a thoroughly enjoyable and wonderfully rewarding 36 years in a variety of roles across Defence.

As an Army Air Corps officer, he specialised in aviation roles during his early career. He flew Army and RAF helicopters (predominantly Lynx, Chinook and Gazelle aircraft), and flew on operations in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. He commanded 657 Squadron AAC on operations in the Balkans and Iraq between 2001-2003, and received an OBE following command of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing based out of RAF Odiham between 2006-2008.

When not at front line duty, he has conducted a number of tours in the Joint Helicopter Command – soon to be retitled the UK’s Joint Aviation Command - most notably as the 1* Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff. Alongside he has also been the Deputy Commander 1(UK) Division, and had tours in the MOD Operations Directorate, Army Headquarters; and attended the Higher & Advanced Command and Staff Courses.

His last tour in the military as Director Land Warfare (DLW) included responsibility for much of the British Army’s training, along with its doctrine, lessons learned and warfare development activities. In this role he commanded and led a significant number of the Army’s and Defence’s trade training organisations (including ground training at the Army Aviation Centre at Middle Wallop) as well as the Army’s collective and combined arms training in the UK, Germany, Kenya, Belize and Canada.

Prior to this he was dual-hatted as the Civil Administrator of the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus and Commander of all Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel in this vitally important Overseas Territory. His knowledge and experience in the diplomatic arena and operating at the strategic level was honed through a three-year tour as the UK’s Military Attaché in Washington DC; here he was responsible for developing the many interoperability strands (including aviation) between the US and British Armies following the Afghan Combat Mission.