James Harkness KCVO CB OBE KStJ QHC FRSA is a Church of Scotland minister. Harkness was born in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway on 20 October 1935 and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He was Assistant Minister at North Morningside. He joined the Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) in 1961 and served four years with the King's Own Scottish Borderers and four years with the Queen’s Own Highlanders. He was in Singapore between 1969 and 1970 and then Deputy Warden of the RAChD Centre until 1974. He was then Senior Chaplain in Northern Ireland (1974–75) and then the 4th Division (1975–78). He was Assistant Chaplain General in Scotland (1980–81), Senior Chaplain to the 1st British Corps (1981–82) and to the BAOR (1982–84). In 1985 he became Deputy Chaplain General to the British A