Reflections on Field Marshal Lord Vincent

Lord Vincent (left) pictured with Senior Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew (right)

President Alice Gast pays tribute to Field Marshal Lord Vincent (1931 – 2018), previously Chairman of Imperial, who has died at the age of 87.

Lord Vincent became the first Chairman of both Council and Court of Imperial in 1998 - a position he held until 2004. He previously held the position of Chairman of the Governing Body from 1996. 

His tenure coincided with the biggest change to the College in 100 years – its merger with various University of London medical schools, and the creation in 1998 of the College’s School of Medicine. 

In 1996, Lord Vincent was also awarded the Imperial College Fellowship, which honoured dignitaries. 

"We are extremely thankful to Lord Vincent for his service to the College." Alice Gast President of Imperial College London

Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, said: “Lord Vincent was a much-loved and respected chairman of Imperial’s Governing Body and Council who contributed greatly to the College, and we are saddened by his death.  

“His time at the College marked a very successful period of building and change, including the opening of Imperial’s main entrance on Exhibition Road by Her Majesty the Queen, as well as the inauguration of the Sir Alexander Fleming building.    

“Lord Vincent also led the recruitment of Sir Richard Sykes as Rector of the College, and they enhanced Imperial’s reputation across the world. We are extremely thankful to Lord Vincent for his service to the College.  

“Our deepest condolences to Lord Vincent’s family and loved ones.”  

A varied and inspiring career

Born in London, Lord Vincent joined the army in 1950 aged 19 and went on to become the most senior ranking officer in the British Army. He was first praised for leading a regiment which captured Provisional IRA terrorists in Belfast in 1972. Subsequently, he became one of the few commanding officers to receive the Distinguished Service Order for service in Northern Ireland. 

Lord Vincent led a varied and inspiring career which saw his appointment as Chief Defence of Staff in 1991, and Chairman of the Nato Military Committee between 1987 and 1996 – this marked the first time since 1974 that a British commander had held the post. He also held many honorary posts that included receiving a life peerage on leaving the army as a Field Marshal aged 65 in 1996, adopting the title Baron Vincent of Coleshill. 

After retiring from his full-time military career in 1996, Lord Vincent assumed the chairmanship of the governors of Imperial. In staff magazine Reporter, dated 1996, Lord Vincent was asked about his first impressions of the College.

He said: "One of the things that struck me, and the impression grows rather than weakens, is that there is a very well-ordered student body here. The students I have met have a mature, responsible, level-headed attitude […] Imperial College is about science, technology and medicine but underlying that are a whole range of other activities. It is a many faceted place which gives it greater breadth.” 

When he stepped down as Chairman in 2004, his Deputy, Dr Eileen Buttle expressed the warmest appreciation and gratitude to him for the invaluable contribution he had made to the College during his tenure. The last nine years had been a turbulent time for Imperial and he had provided a steady hand to guide first the Governing Body and then the Council through that period. He had, she said, devoted a great deal more of his time to supporting the College than anyone had the right to expect and his experience and wisdom would be sorely missed.