King, Sir Frank Douglas (1919–98), soldier, GOC Northern Ireland, was born 9 March 1919 near Brightwell, Berkshire, England, son of Arthur King, farmer, and Kate Eliza King (née Sheard). He was educated at Wallingford Grammar School and intended to follow his father into farming but for the outbreak of the second world war. He began his military career in the Territorial Army before being commissioned (1940) into the Royal Fusiliers and then transferred into the Parachute Regiment (1943). As a serving officer he took part in the attack on Arnhem (1944), being wounded and then captured in the ensuing battle. At the end of the war he contemplated entry into university but was instead persuaded to accept the offer of a regular commission, and subsequently became one of the first group of officers in 1946 to graduate through the technical staff course at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham. Four years later (1950) he also successfully passed through the staff college at Camberley, conferring on him the dual qualification of a technical and general staff officer. King then served in a number of important military positions in the postwar period, each being seen as a promotion and recognition of his talents. He commanded the 2nd Parachute Battalion (1960–62) and the 11th Infantry Brigade Group in Germany (1963–4), was military adviser (overseas equipment) (1965–6), director of land/air warfare (1967–8), and director of military assistance overseas (1968–9) with the Ministry of Defence. Appointed commandant of the Royal Military College of Science (1969–71), he was promoted lieutenant-general (1971), served as GOC-in-Chief of Army Strategic Command (1971–2), deputy Commander-in-Chief of UK land forces (1972–3), and GOC and director of operations in Northern Ireland (1973–5). His last army appointments came as commander of Northern Army Group and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army on the Rhine (1976–8) as well as ADC general to Queen Elizabeth II (1977–8). In 1976 he was selected to deliver the Kermit Roosevelt lectures to staff colleges throughout the USA.
Throughout this long military career he was rarely in the public eye, but this was to change dramatically in his two-year stint in Northern Ireland. From the time of the outbreak of serious civil unrest in 1969, the authorities had used the British army to try to restore some measure of stability. At first the army had worked with the Northern Ireland government, but after the suspension of Stormont in March 1972 and the introduction of direct rule from London, it took its orders from the secretary of state for Northern Ireland. As the situation deteriorated even further, it found itself increasingly under attack. On his arrival in Northern Ireland King faced an immense task, with violence running at a record level. He saw his main task as reducing the level of violence (which statistically he achieved) to allow a political solution to be found. He had some success against republicans, who called a brief ceasefire in the winter of 1974, but his handling earlier that year of the loyalist Ulster Workers' strike, aimed at bringing down the power-sharing executive, provoked much controversy. Many criticised the army's failure to move swiftly against the strikers, as well as its apparent reluctance to distribute petrol supplies when these were halted. After his tour of duty, he defended his response: ‘If you get a large section of the population which is bent on a particular course, then it is difficult to stop them taking that course’ (Elliott & Flackes, 165). He saw his role as balancing military needs with the realities of the political situation in Northern Ireland. To some he succeeded in this task; Merlyn Rees (qv) (1920–2006), secretary of state at the time of his departure (1975), told him: ‘You have never played at politics and I have never played at being a soldier: that's why we have got on so well’ (Times, 2 Apr. 1998).
After retiring from the army he pursued a number of business interests and acted as a director and chairman of various companies until ill health forced him to retire. These included Kilton Properties, Springthorpe Property Company, Plaza Fish Ltd, John Taylor Ltd, Leicester Frozen Foods, and Assets Protection International Ltd. He was also trustee of the Airborne Security Trust and military adviser to Short Brothers (Belfast) Ltd. Outside these activities King maintained close links with the Parachute Regiment and for a time acted as chairman of the Arnhem Veterans' association. His other interests included golf, gardening, and flying. He married (1947) Joy Emily Ellen Taylor-Lane, a war widow with one daughter and one son; later, they had another daughter. After a short illness he died on 30 March 1998, survived by his wife, stepchildren, and daughter.