The Assistant Chief of the General Staff and Army Chief of Staff is a senior role in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
.
Responsibilities
The Assistant Chief of the General Staff supports the
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
in his responsibilities, sets the conditions for the British Army to contribute to success on operations, ensures coherence across the 'Defence Lines of Development' and develops the Army of the Future. The officer is an Army Board member responsible for the Army’s international engagement strategy and the British Army’s internal and external communications policy. As the Army’s senior officer in the Ministry of Defence, he or she provides the gearing between the Ministry of Defence and Army Headquarters. The title of the existing ACGS will be renamed as Director Engagement and Communications (D E&C) on 3 September 2018. The responsibilities of D E&C will deliver the British Army’s communications, both internally, across Defence, across Government, and to the UK public and international partners. On the other hand, the role of the Assistant Chief of the General Staff (ACGS) and Army Chief of Staff (ACOS) will be responsible for directing and delivering the Army’s input into Defence planning. The current Director Strategy, Major General James Swift, will attain the title of ACGS and ACOS and his previous title of Director Strategy will disappear.
Assistant Chiefs
Assistant Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff:
* Major-General Laurence Carr (1939–1940)
* Major-General
Arthur Percival
Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted fo ...
Gordon Macready
Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Nevil Macready, 2nd Baronet (5 April 1891 – 17 October 1956) was a British Army officer who served as Assistant Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War.
Military career
Born in Kandy, ...
(Oct 1940 – Jun 1942)
* Major-General
Daril Watson
General Sir Daril Gerard Watson (17 October 1888 − 1 July 1967) was a senior British Army officer who saw service during both World War I and World War II.
Early life and military career
Born on 17 October 1888, Daril Watson was educated at ...
(Jun 1942 – Dec 1942)
* Major-General John Evetts (Dec 1942 – Aug 1944)
* Major-General John Kennedy (Oct 1943 – Feb 1945)
* Major-General
Vyvyan Evelegh
Major General Vyvyan Evelegh, (14 December 1898 – 27 August 1958) was a senior officer of the British Army during the Second World War, commanding the 78th Infantry Division (otherwise known as the Battleaxe Division) and the 6th Armoured Di ...
(Aug 1944–1945)
* Major-General Frank Simpson (Feb 1945 – Feb 1946)
Assistant Chiefs of the General Staff:
* Major-General William Jackson (1968–1970)
* Major-General
Ian Gill
Ian Gill is an Australian-Canadian writer, documentary filmmaker, and social entrepreneur. He has been the director of Ecotrust Canada since 1994. Before that he worked as a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Gill was president ...
Henry Roper
Major-General Henry Ernest Roper (1923 – 13 July 1982) was a British Army officer who became Assistant Chief of the General Staff.
Military career
Roper was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1942 and fought in World War II in ...
(1975–1978)
* Major-General Ian Baker (1978–1980)
* Major-General Maurice Johnston (Jan 1980 – Dec 1980)
* Major-General
Robert Pascoe
General Sir Robert Alan Pascoe (born 21 February 1932) is a retired British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1988 to 1990.
Army career
Educated at Tavistock Grammar School and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhu ...
(1980–1983)
* Major-General Laurence New (1983–1984)
* Major-General
John MacMillan
John Victor Macmillan OBE DD (1877–1956) was the fifth Bishop of Dover in the modern era who was later translated to Guildford.
Born into a publishing family (he was an uncle of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), he was educated at Eton ...
(1984–1987)
* Major-General Charles Guthrie (1987–1989)
* Major-General
Richard Swinburn
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Hull Swinburn KCB (30 October 1937 – 11 October 2017) was Commander of the UK Field Army.
Military career
Educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Swinburn was commissioned int ...
(1989–1990)
* Major-General Roger Wheeler (1990–1992)
* Major-General Michael Walker (1992–1994)
* Major-General
Timothy Granville-Chapman
General Sir Timothy John Granville-Chapman, (born 5 January 1947) is a former British Army officer, who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces (2005–2009).
Early life
Granville-Chapman was born on 5 January ...
(1994–1996)
* Major-General
Michael Willcocks
Sir Michael Alan Willcocks, (born 27 July 1944) is a retired officer of the British Army and former Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Lords.
Military career
Willcocks was commissioned into th ...
(1996–1999)
* Major-General
Kevin O'Donoghue
General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, (born 9 December 1947) is a retired British Army officer and former Chief of Defence Materiel. He retired from the service in December 2010, being succeeded as Chief of Defence Materiel by Bernard Gray.
Early li ...
(1999–2001)
* Major-General
Richard Dannatt
General Francis Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, (born 23 December 1950) is a retired senior British Army officer and member of the House of Lords. He was Chief of the General Staff (head of the Army) from 2006 to 2009.
Dannatt was commissioned ...
(2001–2002)
* Major-General David Richards (2002–2005)
* Major-General
Bill Rollo
Lieutenant General Sir William Raoul Rollo, (born August 1955) is a former senior British Army officer.
Military career
Rollo was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve on 10 March 1977. ...
(2005–2007)
* Major-General
Simon Mayall
Lieutenant General Sir Simon Vincent Mayall, (born 7 March 1956) is a retired British Army officer and a Middle East Adviser at the Ministry of Defence.
Early life
Mayall was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, Balliol College, Oxfor ...
(2007–2009)
* Major-General James Bucknall (2009–2010)
* Major General
Richard Barrons
General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons, (born 17 May 1959) is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.
Barrons' early career was spent in various staff and field pos ...
(2010–2011)
* Major-General
James Everard
General Sir James Rupert Everard, (born 23 September 1962) is a retired senior British Army officer who served as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Career
Educated at Uppingham School,David Cullen (2013–2015)
* Major-General Nick Welch (2015–2018)
* Major General Rupert Jones (Jan 2018–Sep 2018)
* Major General James Swift (Sep 2018–Nov 2018)
* Major General
Ralph Wooddisse
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph William Wooddisse, (born 8 January 1970) is a British Army officer who serves as Commander Field Army since April 2021.
Early life and education
Wooddisse was born on 8 January 1970 in Dhekelia, Cyprus. He was educ ...
(November 2018-March 2021)
* Major General Nick Perry (March 2021–2022)
* Major General Charles Collins (2022–present)