Our People
Garry Blewitt OBE
21st March 2018
Garry began his Army career at Cwrt-yr-Gollen, Crickhowell, the Prince Of Wales (POW) Division Depot, in 1977 and joined the 1st Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF) in May 1977. Rising through the ranks he served on tours of Germany, Denmark, Canada, USA, Falklands and multiple operational tours of Northern Ireland where he was awarded the GOC’s commendation. He was also selected as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was promoted to WO1 in 1994, taking post as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the 5th Battalion Royal IRISH in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.
In 1996 he was commissioned into the POW Division and posted as a Lieutenant to 1 CHESHIRE in Ballykelly as Second-in-Command of a Rifle Coy before taking over as the Maintenance and Transport Officer with promotion to Captain. He was part of a successful 1 CHESHIRE orienteering team, winning the Northern Ireland competition two years in succession. He returned to 1 RWF as the Quartermaster Technical with several tours of Northern Ireland and a second overseas exercise to Kenya. He completed a post as the Second-in-Command of the Junior Division, Infantry Battle School, Brecon before being promoted to Major.
As a Major he served on several postings as a Quartermaster in 1 RWF with tours of Iraq and Northern Ireland, the logistics mentor with Kabul Military Training Centre in Afghanistan and the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles in Brunei. The Headquarters Land, as the SO2 Infrastructure Hard in Wilton, moving the Headquarter ARRC from Germany to UK. The 3rd Battalion Royal Welsh, Training Major in Cardiff during the amalgamation process and returned to the Infantry Battle School, Brecon as the Quartermaster Technical.
He was selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and moved as the Field Director Gurkha Welfare Scheme in Pokhara, Nepal in 2012. He played a very active role during the strategic development for the Gurkha Welfare Scheme encompassing the establishment, Area Welfare Centre infrastructure, pension payments, school infrastructure and education plan, rural water and sanitation programme, medical scheme and residential home construction. He coordinated the emergency disaster relief aid, during the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake in Apr/May 2015 and was awarded the OBE.
Since retirement from the Army in 2016 he has been employed with Transport for Wales in Cardiff, to provide advice, support and expertise to the Welsh Government to assist in the delivery of key transport projects in Wales. The initial remit is to procure the next Wales and Borders Rail Service and the South Wales Metro.
Garry is a keen mountaineer, an active cyclist and rugby supporter. He is married and has two grown up children.