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 ...

Paul Anthony Edward Nanson (born 10 May 1965) is a

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 ...

officer who served as Commander

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and General Officer Commanding Recruiting and Initial Training Command.

Early life and education

Nanson was born in

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. He was educated at

Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby ("Small things grow in harmony" - Sallust) , established = , closed = , type = Public School Independent school; Day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Mr Deiniol Wil ...

and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Military career

Nanson was commissioned into the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part o ...

in January 1986. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 2006 and was deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. He went on to be chief of staff for 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2008, commander of the

in March 2011 and Director (Army) at the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving offic ...

in April 2014. Paul Nanson Sandhurst

After that he became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in September 2015. Nanson was given the additional appointment of General Officer Commanding Recruiting and Initial Training Command in 2018, a post which he has continued in after finishing his 5-year term at the Royal Military academy, Sandhurst as commandant. Nanson retired from the British Army on 4 November 2020.

Honours and decorations

Nanson was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) for distinguished services in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

on 26 February 2015 and Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 New Year Honours.

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanson, Paul 1966 births Living people Royal Regiment of Fusiliers officers Military personnel of the Bosnian War British Army personnel of the Gulf War British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Military personnel from Lancashire People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Iraq War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Commandants of Sandhurst Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath