Bill Mott (British Army soldier)

Garrison Sergeant Major William Daran Gillduff Mott, OBE, MVO is a former British Army soldier who was one of the army's most senior warrant officers between 2002 and 2015.[1]

William D. G. "Bill" Mott
Mott at the Garter Service at Windsor Castle.
Nickname(s)Bill or Billy
Born1961 (61 years old)
Ellesmere Port, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1979–2015
RankWarrant Officer Class 1
Service number24520588
UnitWelsh Guards
Battles/warsThe Troubles
Falklands War
AwardsOfficer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Member of the Royal Victorian Order

British service

Mott was brought up in Overpool, Cheshire, before enlisting into the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards in April 1979. He saw operational tours in Northern Ireland and during the Falklands War in 1982. He served at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a colour sergeant, company sergeant major, and regimental sergeant major, before becoming Garrison Sergeant Major (GSM) at HQ Northern Ireland. He became GSM HQ London District in late 2002 and oversaw his first Trooping the Colour parade as GSM in June 2003. He was subsequently in charge of organising, choreographing and overseeing all major state ceremonial occasions.[2] From 2003 he was also a pivotal figure in organising the repatriation ceremonies for British soldiers killed in action during operations in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.

In February 2014, Mott publicly warned that cuts to the British defence budget were threatening to undermine the future spectacle of state ceremonial events in the United Kingdom.[3]

He retired from the army in June 2015 following Trooping the Colour, during which the Welsh Guards marked the centennial year of their foundation.[4]

Valley Forge

Following retirement, he relocated to the America in 2015 to join his American wife in Kentucky. He was then invited by the Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMAC) in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where he quickly moved up in the hierarchy to be appointed as VFMAC's Garrison Sergeant Major. As of March 2022, Mott is employed by the Valley Forge Military Academy as acting Commandant of Cadets, alongside working with the department of admissions and directing ceremonial drill.[5]

Awards and honours

Mott was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2005.[6] He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 Birthday Honours. In the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Honours he was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for his personal service to the monarch during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[7] Mott was granted Freedom of the City of London in November 2013.[8]

References
  1. "Senior Army NCO gives action figures authentic voice". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. WO1 (GSM) W D G 'Billy' Mott OBE MVO, Welsh Guards http://www.trooping-the-colour.co.uk/gsm/bmott.htm (Accessed 10 March 2015)
  3. Swinford, Steven (2 February 2014). "Defence cuts threat to Britain's biggest ceremonial events". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  4. "Billy Mott Gives his Final Salute to The Queen". Armed Forces Day website. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. "British military vet, now teaching at Valley Forge, shares cherished memories of serving the queen". 6abc Philadelphia. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. "No. 57781". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 October 2005. p. 13100.
  7. Rayner, Gordon (3 June 2012). "The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Happy and glorious, the river Queen". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. "Sergeant Major Bill Mott: Deeside man given Freedom of City of London". North Wales Daily Post. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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