First UAE Chief of Staff dies
De Butts first came to what were then the seven Trucial States in 1964, to become commander of the Trucial Oman Scouts, TOS, a body raised in 1952 to operate throughout the country. He held this post until 1967, helping to build the TOS into a well-knit professional force that not only helped to preserve security, collaborating closely with the emerging defence forces of the individual emirates, but also contributed its engineering and other skills to a number of important infrastructure projects in the country.
During his time as TOS Commander, De Butts also saw the accession as Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 of the late President HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the accession, the previous year, of the late Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi as Ruler of Sharjah. He also developed close relations with the other Rulers of the Emirates, something that was to stand him in good stead a few years later when he returned to the country.
De Butts retired back to Britain in 1967, but was recalled to duty in the Gulf in 1971 to become director of the Military Liaison Office of Sir William Luce, a former British Political Resident in the Gulf who was overseeing the British withdrawal from the region and was working with the Rulers of the seven emirates on the establishment of the United Arab Emirates.
Upon the creation of the UAE, De Butts was appointed as the first Chief of Staff of the Union Defence Force, as the Trucial Oman Scouts was re-named, and worked closely with the Minister of Defence (and now Dubai Crown Prince), General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on building the nucleus of the UAE's armed forces, adding a naval wing and an air wing to the existing TOS units. He was also responsible for the setting up of the UAE's first military academy, laying the foundations for the highly-professional UAE Armed Forces of today.
Freddie de Butts joined the British Army in 1937, serving in Egypt, Libya, Lebanon in the Second World War and also taking part in the invasion of Sicily. He later served in Western Europe, before going to India in 1947. He then served in Malaysia before returning to the Middle East, first to Cyprus and then to southern Yemen, where he was commander of the Aden Levies for several years before taking over his post as commander of the Trucial Oman Scouts.
Born on 17th April 1916, he died on 24th August.
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