In February 1992 Francis Galliano tragically died in a skiing accident in the mountain of Granada in southern Spain. He was thirty-five years old.
Francis joined the Irish Hussars in Paderborn in 1978 and served with ‘A’ Squadron in Berlin, Tidworth and Cyprus before leaving in 1982 to spend a year working in Mexico City. He then rejoined his family bank in Gibraltar.
Francis is best remembered for the tremendous energy, enthusiasm and charm with which he did everything — be it troop leading or pursuing his passion for opera, classical music and history. His love of the outdoors and travel led him to take adventure training expeditions sailing down the Nile in Feluccas and mule trekking across the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Perhaps the highlight of his time with the Regiment was during a six-month tour with the United Nations in Cyprus when his capacity for hard work and also for seeing that others of all ranks enjoyed themselves to the full showed itself most clearly.
After leaving the Regiment Francis continued his involvement with the military through Territorial Army service with the Gibraltar Regiment. His contribution to the Rock was considerable — serving as Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and on the boards of several charitable and sporting foundations.
He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the Regiment and Gibraltar.
