{{Short description|British Army Reserve officer and events organiser}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Major General | name = Simon Brooks-Ward | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CVO|CBE|TD|VR}} | image = Major General Simon Brooks-Ward (cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | burial_place = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = British Army | service_years = 1987–2022 | rank = Major General | unit = | commands = Royal Yeomanry | battles = Iraq War | awards = Commander of the Royal Victorian Order<br/>Commander of the Order of the British Empire<br/>Territorial Decoration<br/>Volunteer Reserves Service Medal | relations = | other_work = }} Major General '''Simon Howe Brooks-Ward''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|CVO|CBE|TD|VR}} is a British event organiser and former senior Army Reserve officer. Through his company, The HPower Group, he is most well known for organising large-scale equestrian events worldwide.<ref>[http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html Biography ''Simon Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815191026/http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html |date=15 August 2015 }} from HorsePower International website.</ref>
==Military career== Brooks-Ward was commissioned into the Royal Yeomanry on 4 October 1987.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=51399|date=5 July 1988|page=7704 |supp=y }}</ref> He served in the Iraq War as the Commanding Officer of the Royal Yeomanry, the only Army Reserve unit to receive a battle honour during the conflict.<ref>[http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html Biography ''Simon Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815191026/http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html |date=15 August 2015 }} from HorsePower International website.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lusher |first=Adam |date=20 April 2008 |title=Welcoming the troops at the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1896158/Welcoming-the-troops-at-the-Windsor-Castle-Royal-Tattoo.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London |accessdate=21 October 2015 }}</ref> In 2004 he was awarded the Territorial Decoration, and in 2005 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services in Iraq and to defence.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=57665|date=11 June 2005|page=5 |supp=y }}</ref> He was subsequently Colonel Yeomanry at Headquarters Royal Armoured Corps and Colonel TA Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. In January 2012 he was promoted to brigadier and was appointed Assistant Divisional Commander of 3rd (United Kingdom) Division in Bulford.<ref>[http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html Biography ''Simon Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815191026/http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html |date=15 August 2015 }} from HorsePower International website.</ref> In October 2015 he was promoted to major general and took over as Deputy Commander Field Army, the most senior position in the Army Reserve.<ref>The Daily Telegraph (London), 2015, Senior army appointment, SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 32, The Daily Telegraph (London), 24 August 2015.</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61398|supp=y|page=21527|date=2 November 2015}}</ref> He retired in June 2022.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 63760|date=19 July 2022 | |page=13598| |supp=y }}</ref>
He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Yeomanry Royal Armoured Corps Army Reserve on 1 January 2024.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=3872|supp=y|issue=64327|date=27 February 2024}}</ref>
Brooks-Ward was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N6|date=1 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-military-division-of-the-new-year-honours-2022 |publisher=GOV.UK|title=The Military Division of the New Year Honours 2022|access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref>
==Event organiser== Brooks-Ward arranged his first major event at the age of 27, directing the Luciano Pavarotti horse show in Italy. He has subsequently become the director of the Olympia London International Horse Show and the Royal Windsor Horse Show, as well as numerous other major equestrian events.<ref>[http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html Biography ''Simon Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815191026/http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html |date=15 August 2015 }} from HorsePower International website.</ref>
In addition, Brooks-Ward was the Equestrian Adviser at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the site selection and feasibility plans for London 2012, the 2008 TA100 National Pageant, the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo, the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Pageant,<ref>{{cite news |last=Lusher |first=Adam |date=20 April 2008 |title=Welcoming the troops at the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1896158/Welcoming-the-troops-at-the-Windsor-Castle-Royal-Tattoo.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London |accessdate=21 October 2015 }}</ref> and the BAFTA Award Winning Queen's 90th Birthday Celebrations at Windsor. The HPower Group was the delivery company for the three First World War 100 year anniversary commemorations; 2015 at St Symphorien Cemetery, Mons, 2016 Somme, and 2017 Passchendaele commemorations. His involvement in many British state ceremonial occasions led to him being honoured as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 2002.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=56654|date=6 August 2002|page=2 |supp=y }}</ref> He was promoted to Commander in the same order in the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Honours in recognition of his services during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.<ref>[http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html Biography ''Simon Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815191026/http://hpowergroup.com/Simon_Brooks-Ward.html |date=15 August 2015 }} from HorsePower International website.</ref>
Brooks-Ward was involved in organising national celebrations for the Queen's 90th birthday in May 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rayner |first=Gordon |date=20 April 2008 |title=BBC misses out on showing Queen's 90th birthday celebrations after Jubilee criticism |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/11608290/BBC-misses-out-on-showing-Queens-90th-birthday-celebrations-after-Jubilee-criticism.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London |accessdate=15 May 2015 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Ranald Munro}} {{s-ttl|title=Deputy Commander Field Army (Reserves)|years=2015–2018}} {{s-aft|after=William O'Leary}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks-Ward, Simon}} Category:Living people Category:British Army major generals Category:British businesspeople Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Royal Yeomanry officers Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:20th-century British Army personnel Category:British Army personnel of the Iraq War