A FORMER York Army chief, who was made a CBE in last weekend's Queen's Birthday Honours, has spoken about his latest challenge - keeping the peace in war-ravaged Bosnia.

Brigadier Andrew Farquhar, who during his time in York played a key role in coping with the floods of 2000, the foot and mouth crisis and the Selby rail disaster, gave the Friends of the Green Howards' Museum an insight into the Army's current role in Bosnia, at their annual lecture in the city's Worsley Barracks.

Formerly Commander of 15 (NE) Brigade, based in York, Brigadier Farquhar has recently returned from a seven-month posting to Sarajevo, where he commanded the multi-national peacekeeping forces.

He said he found the Bosnian army demoralised, and crime was rife.

He organised his forces, from 17 countries, to build up an intelligence network that targeted criminal gang leaders and corrupt army and police officers. After six months of hard work collecting information - often from the elderly women of the villages - they moved against the criminals.

Many were captured and are now serving long jail terms.

Brigadier Farquhar, an old boy of Pocklington School and a graduate of Sheffield University, praised Lord Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats and now reporting on the situation in Bosnia for both the United Nations and the European Union.

He said he had brought clarity to the problems by emphasising that law and order leads to justice and jobs.

Brigadier Farquhar believes, nevertheless, that Bosnia has a long way to go before the elections scheduled for September 2004.

The meeting also heard from Col Bob Stewart, who commanded the Cheshire Regiment in Bosnia as part of the UN force in 1992 and 1993, during the worst of the Bosnia conflict.

He gave a graphic account, using ITN film, of the difficulties of his job, facing a lack of a coherent UN structure and the aftermath of Serbian massacres.

The Green Howards are celebrating another award to one of the Regimental "family" in the Birthday Honours - Stan Johnson, a Green Howards National Serviceman and founder of Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum near Malton, was made an MBE.

Updated: 11:02 Thursday, June 19, 2003