General Thompson has the unique distinction of being one of the few senior officers who has commanded thousands of troops in a major conflict since the end of World War Two. During the Falklands War of 1982, his brigade carried out the initial landings and fought the majority of the land battles to re-take the islands. After leaving the British armed forces in 1986, Julian has become one of the most recognized military historians in the United Kingdom after publishing many books and appearing on television. He also commands a great deal of respect from veterans of all nations around the world.

For The Soldier's Tale series, Julian will accompany the veterans of the series as they make their emotional journeys back to the battlefields, interviewing them as they retrace their past experiences. Julian's descriptions of the fighting will be shot on location with an in-depth look at the events.

Major General Julian Thompson joined the Royal Marines a month after his 18th birthday and served for 34 years, in the Near, Middle and Far East, and the Southern and Northern Regions of Europe. He has commanded on operations at every level from platoon to brigade. He commanded 40 Commando Royal Marines for two and a half years, and the 3rd Commando Brigade for two years. The latter period of command included the Falklands War of 1982, in which his brigade carried out the initial landings and fought the majority of the land battles.

His responsibilities in his last tour in the armed services, as a Major General, included commanding and training the Special Forces tasked with providing the United Kingdom's response to maritime terrorism. This also involved giving advice on countering maritime terrorism to Cabinet ministers, senior executives in the offshore oil, gas, and shipping industries, and certain Chief Police officers.

His staff appointments included Chief of Staff of 3rd Commando Brigade, Chief of Staff Commando forces, and Assistant Secretary to the UK Chiefs of Staff Committee. He is a graduate of the British Army Staff College, and later instructed there. He graduated from the Royal College of Defense Studies in 1980.

He retired as a Major General at the end of 1986, and spent three years at the Department of War Studies, King's College London on a Leverhulme grant researching Logistics and Armed Conflict. As a result of his research, he published The Lifeblood of War: Logistics in Armed Conflict (Brassey's 1991). The book has been used as a textbook at the United States Army Command and General Staff Course, and at the United States Navy War College. He is now a Visiting Professor at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, and provides consultancy advice to companies with interests in the defense field and commercial operations in remote areas.

He broadcasts and writes on defense matters. For three years he was retained by The Observer to write occasional pieces on defense matters. During the Gulf War of 1991 he contributed a column every Sunday in the paper, and was employed by The Observer as their advisor on military matters.

He has published seven other works of military history, edited one, and contributed to six. He is series editor for the forthcoming Cassells series The Great Commanders. In 1994 and 1995, he co-scripted some 23 short documentaries for the BBC to mark some key Second World War fiftieth anniversaries, and presented the majority of them. Nine of these documentaries formed part of the BBC's TV coverage of the VE and VJ commemorations, for which the BBC received a BAFTA. Recent TV work includes participation in a programme about the Falklands War with Max Hastings (screened in early 2002), and a documentary about the plot to kill Hitler due for screening next year.

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