Known for his grizzled features, no-nonsense manner and gravelly voice, General Sir Mike Jackson, who has died aged 80 of prostate cancer, became not only the most recognisable British soldier since Field Marshal Montgomery, but could have been drawn from central casting.
Tall, cadaverous and with a craggy face – even the bags under his eyes had bags, it was said, at least until he had them lifted, not for vanity but to improve his eyesight – he looked like the sort of man who could face down enemies whether in Kosovo or Iraq, as indeed he did.
