Lieutenant general (Lt Gen), formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank 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 ...

and the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. It is the equivalent of a multinational

three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations. Lieutenant general is a superior rank to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, but subordinate to a (full) general. The rank has a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

rank code of

OF-8 An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

, equivalent to a vice-admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and an air marshal in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. The rank insignia for both the Army and the Royal Marines is a crown over a crossed sabre and baton. Since the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, the

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cen ...

, commonly known as the Queen's Crown, has been depicted. Before 1953, the

Tudor Crown The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial crown, imperial and state crown of Kingdom of England, English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the English Civil War, Civil War in 16 ...

, commonly known as the King's Crown, was used.

British Army usage

Ordinarily, lieutenant general is the rank held by the officer in command of an entire battlefield

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

. The General Officer Commanding NATO's

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide. History The ARRC was created on 1 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former I (Britis ...

is a British lieutenant general. Historically,

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

and II Corps were commanded by British lieutenant generals. Additionally, three lieutenant general appointments also exist within the extant

's Headquarters. They are the

Commander Field Army The Field Army is a command of the British Army responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. Commander Field Army reports to the Chief of the General Staff. Background Following the 1966 Defence ...

, the Commander Home Command and the Chief of Materiel (Land) in

Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics ...

(double-hatted as the

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

Royal Marines usage

Although the senior appointment in the

, the

Commandant General Commandant-general is a military rank in several countries and is generally equivalent to that of major-general. Argentina Commandant general is the highest rank in the Argentine National Gendarmerie, and is held by the national director of the g ...

, has since 1996 held the lower rank of

, prior to this date the Commandant General was a lieutenant general or

full general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. However, given that a few more senior positions in the British Armed Forces are open to officers from different services, Royal Marines officers can and do reach the rank of lieutenant general, being posted to Joint Forces or Ministry of Defence postings. Examples include Lieutenant-General Sir

Robert Fry Lieutenant General Sir Robert Alan Fry, (born 6 April 1951)Debrett's''Lt-Gen Sir Robert Fry, KCB, CBE''Retrieved 15 August 2013 served as a Royal Marine for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, ...

, Lieutenant-General Sir James Dutton and Lieutenant-General Sir

David Capewell Lieutenant General Sir David Andrew Capewell, (born 21 August 1959) is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2011 to 2015. Early life and education Capewell was born on 21 August 1959 in Huddersfield, Yor ...

Royal Air Force usage

From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the

maintained the rank of lieutenant general. It was superseded by the rank of air marshal on the following day. Although Sir David Henderson was an RAF lieutenant general, the then RAF Chief-of-Staff Sir

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

never held this rank. Additionally, the retired

admiral

John de Mestre Hutchison Admiral John de Mestre Hutchison, (4 September 1862 – 9 October 1932) was a Royal Navy officer who held senior posts during the early part of the 20th century. John de Mestre Hutchison was born on was 4 September 1862, the son of Captain John ...

held an honorary RAF commission in the rank of lieutenant general. The RAF lieutenant general rank insignia was similar to the naval rank insignia for a vice-admiral, with a broad band of gold being worn on the cuff with two narrower bands above it. Unlike the naval insignia, the RAF lieutenant general insignia did not have an

executive curl The executive curl, or the "Elliot's Eye", is the name given to the ring above a naval officer's gold lace or braid insignia. It originated with the Royal Navy. Origins The precise origin of "Elliot's eye" is somewhat of a mystery. One story i ...

References

{{UK officer ranks Military ranks of the British Army Military ranks of the Royal Marines Former military ranks of the Royal Air Force United Kingdom

British Army usage

Royal Marines usage

Royal Air Force usage

See also

References