British Army honours General Sir Mike Jackson with gun salute as he is laid to rest
Soldiers from the British Army fired a gun salute to mark the funeral of former Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mike Jackson, as he was laid to rest by his family.
General 'Jacko', who also earned the nickname the Prince of Darkness, died last month aged 80 and was buried at a family funeral on Wednesday.
Gen Sir Mike served operational tours in Northern Ireland and the Balkans, and was best remembered for refusing to confront Russian forces at Pristina airport in Kosovo, telling his American superior: "Sir, I'm not going to start World War Three for you."
He served in the military for more than 40 years and spent three years as head of the British Army.
During the 1999 Kosovo conflict, Gen Sir Mike received praise for his decision to avoid a confrontation with Russian troops, after deeming it to be too risky.
Before taking command of Kosovo, he served three tours in Northern Ireland where he acted as a junior officer.
In 1971, he was present during the shooting at Ballymurphy where at least nine people were killed by British soldiers.
He was also on duty in the operations headquarters on Bloody Sunday – when 13 people at a civil rights march were shot dead by soldiers from the Parachute Regiment.
In 2003, he led British forces with Nato during the invasion of Iraq.
He became known for his inspirational leadership and intelligence which saw him become one of the most well-known military officers since the Second World War.
Gen Sir Mike was born on 21 March 1944, commissioned from Sandhurst in 1963, and reached the rank of general in 2000. He died in October.
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