James Shortt

James Gerard Richard Shortt, also known as Jim Shortt,Jimbo,Seamus Shortt,Colonel The Chevalier James Shortt,James Shortt of Castleshort, or The Baron Castleshort (born Croydon, 16 September 1953), is an English born Director General of the International Bodyguard Association (IBA). In 2009 Shortt was exposed by a British tabloid newspaper as passing himself off as a much-decorated SAS and Parachute Regiment veteran.

Life

James Shortt was born on 16 September 1953 in England, to Peter Henry and Maura Shortt. From an early age he studied martial arts. In 1970, his family moved and for a time lived in Ireland. Shortt studied in the Catholic priesthood for 5 years and entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order. In 1976, he left the order and married Georgina Barrett, with whom he had 3 children.

In 1990, Shortt became the Director General of the International Bodyguard Association, following the death of its founder Lucien Ott. Under Shortt's leadership, the IBA headquartered at "Castle Cosey, Castlebellingham" in County Louth, Ireland. In March 2009, Irish media uncovered the fact that Shortt's baronial "castle" was in fact only a modest house built within the village of Castlebellingham.