The death has been announced of Major-General Janos vitez Karaszy-Kulin, GCStG, GCLJ etc., Grand Master of the International Knightly Order Valiant of St George and hero of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
President of the University John Kersey writes,
"It was difficult to spend any time with Janos Karaszy-Kulin without becoming conscious of his tremendous strength of character and his hard-won awareness of the lessons of twentieth-century history. Hero of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, he then endured many years in exile, sometimes in considerable danger, while the Communists took over the country he loved and made it a very different place indeed from that which he had known.
In those early days, he had served as a young man in the Hungarian air force and had won promotion in recognition of his outstanding qualities as a soldier - his physical and mental strength, his leadership and his tactical awareness. Only the former was to wane with the years. His determination and courage in the field led to some hair-raising escapades that would have filled a colourful, but sadly never to be written autobiography, instead becoming material for the many stories he shared with friends over the years.
Although Janos was more or less reconciled to peacetime life, the steel of his character was never lost. His fierce loyalty in friendship was matched by his combative spirit and willingness to defend those values that were rightly of importance to him. Ever the military man, he had no patience with bureaucracy or committee proceedings; his role was to lead, and that leadership was provided both from instinct and from duty.
The fall of Communism brought about a new phase in Janos' life, when at last his achievements in 1956 were able to receive public recognition at the highest level. Closely associated with senior politicians and public figures in the post-Communist Hungary, his appointment as Grand Master of the International Knightly Order Valiant of St George, founded in Hungary in 1326, brought about a high profile both within his motherland and abroad. From his adoptive home of England, he led the Order from small beginnings to its present status as an internationally-based charitable organization. He was particularly proud when the Order opened its first home for the elderly in Hungary, and this was followed by numerous other charitable projects in support of the armed forces and others. His dedication to the Order was unstinting, and it comes as no surprise to learn that he was active in its interests until the very end.
In addition to his other responsibilities, Janos was Colonel-Commandant of the Hungarian National Guard, and appointed a number of British residents to honorary officer's rank in that historic body. It was an honour for me to receive promotion to honorary Colonel at his hands and a particular and most unexpected privilege to be awarded the Grand Cross of the National Guard (the senior award of that body) at the Order's 2004 investiture.
The honours that Janos received were legion, and included the Grand Cross of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, an appointment as Honorary Admiral from the United States of America, and many other chivalric and military decorations. During my time as President of St Katharine's Institute in Wyoming, USA, I proposed him successfully for the award of an honorary doctorate there, an honour which he told me gave him particular pleasure.
No account of Janos's life would be complete without mention of the devoted companionship of his wife Iris, who was both inseparable from him and indispensable to his activities at home and abroad. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and their family at this time.
The encouragement and friendship that I enjoyed as a result of knowing Janos will remain with me as an enduring symbol of his values both as a Christian and as a humanitarian. His relatively small stature hid a giant personality and an enormous capacity for life in all its variety, including a notably wicked and rumbustious sense of humour. To be in his company for an evening of good food, drink and plentiful reminiscence was an occasion not easily to be forgotten, and provided a ready explanation as to why he was held in such great affection.
The work that he started will continue, but we shall not see his like again. May he rest in peace, and rise in glory."
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