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 ...

Richard James Aethelstan Stanford, (born 1966) is a retired senior

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 General Officer Commanding Support Command from 2015 to 2017.

Early life and education

Stanford was born in 1966 in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, England. He joined the

after finishing school, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for officer training. He later attended Cranfield University, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in 1999, and studied with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, completing a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree in 2003.

Career

Military career

Stanford was commissioned into the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

in 1987, and saw active service during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, for which he was appointed a

Member 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 o ...

in October 1993. He went on to become commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards, in which capacity he was deployed to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

on peace keeping duties in 2006. He was the

Field Officer in Brigade Waiting The Field Officer in Brigade Waiting holds an appointment in the Royal Household. He performs his duties at State Ceremonies under the authority of the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Lord Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal. When dismounted he carrie ...

and commanded the parade in

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...

2007. In 2009 Stanford was succeeded by

Rupert Thorneloe Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Stuart Michael Thorneloe, MBE (17 October 1969 – 1 July 2009) was a British Army officer who was killed in action on 1 July 2009 near Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Thorneloe is the highest- ...

just prior to the battalion's deployment to Afghanistan; Thorneloe was killed in action during

Operation Panther's Claw Operation Panchai Palang, or Panther's Claw, was a British-led military operation of the War in Afghanistan in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a permanent Internation ...

. Stanford saw active service during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, where he served as an advisor to the Head of the Iraqi Army in 2009. He became Chief of Joint Fires and Influence Branch at Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in March 2012, and General Officer Commanding Support Command in June 2015. He became Senior British Loan Services Officer,

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

in October 2017. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2021 New Year Honours.

Forestry Commission

Stanford became the Chief Executive of the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

in August 2021.

Personal life

Stanford has been married to his wife Fiona since 1995; they have a son and a daughter. Fiona wrote the book ''Don't Say Goodbye: Our Heroes and the Families They Leave Behind'', which is a compilation of her experience as a military wife and stories of wives, girlfriends and children of other Welsh Guards deployed to Afghanistan. He held the ceremonial appointment of Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the

from 7 June 2015 to 7 June 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanford, Richard Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Military personnel from Bedfordshire British Army major generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Order of the British Empire Living people Welsh Guards officers British Army personnel of the Iraq War 1966 births People from Luton Alumni of Cranfield University Alumni of the Open University