Brian Pennicott

Last updated

Brian Pennicott
Born15 February 1938 (1938-02-15) (age 86)
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Service/branchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Years of service1957–1994
Rank Major-General
Commands 29 Commando Regiment RA
Royal Artillery
Battles/wars Falklands War
Awards Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Major-General Brian Thomas Pennicott, CVO (born 15 February 1938) is a former senior British Army officer who served as Defence Services Secretary from 1991 to 1994.

Contents

Military career

Educated at Portsmouth Northern Grammar School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Pennicott was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1957. [1] He became Commanding Officer of 29 Commando Regiment RA in 1977 and then joined the staff of the Military Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in 1980. [1] He was Commander, Royal Artillery forces during the Falklands War [2] and, as a witness, signed the Argentine surrender document. [3] He went on to be Assistant Military Attaché in Washington D. C. in 1982, Commander, Royal Artillery for 1st Armoured Division in 1983 and Deputy Military Secretary in 1987 before being appointed Director, Royal Artillery in 1989. [1] He was Defence Services Secretary from 1991 to 1994 [4] as well as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Reserves) from 1992 to 1994. [1]

In retirement he became Group Human Resources Director at Sun Alliance. [1] He was also appointed as a Gentleman Usher and was present at the funeral of the Queen Mother. Pennicott retired from this position at the end of 2007, though he was then moved to a position of being the Extra Gentleman Usher. [5]

Family

In 1962 he married Patricia Anne Chilcott; they have two sons and three daughters. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Pownall</span> British Lieutenant-General

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Royds Pownall, was a senior British Army officer who held several command and staff positions during the Second World War. In particular, he was chief of staff to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium until the battle of France in May/June 1940. He was later chief of staff to General Sir Archibald Wavell until the fall of Singapore in February 1942, and was then chief of staff to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten in South East Asia in 1943–1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Leakey</span> British Army general, parliamentary official

Lieutenant General Arundell David Leakey, is a former British Army officer. He was Director General of the European Union Military Staff in the Council of the European Union, Brussels. In 2010 he was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, a role he held until February 2018.

An equerry is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a sovereign, a member of a royal family, or a national representative. The role is equivalent to an aide-de-camp, but the term is now prevalent only among some members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill</span>

Field Marshal Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill, was a British Army officer. After serving with British Army of the Rhine he served with the Commonwealth Brigade in Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He commanded the 12th Light Air Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, and later commanded the 19th Airportable Brigade. Although he never served as one of the individual service heads, he went on to be Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in the late 1980s and then Chief of the Defence Staff in the aftermath of the Gulf War. He subsequently became Chair of the Military Committee of NATO in the mid-1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Granville-Chapman</span> British Army general

Sir Timothy John Granville-Chapman, is a former British Army officer, who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces (2005–2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Willcocks</span> British Army general

Sir Michael Alan Willcocks, 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.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Shakespeare Allison, is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) commander. He was the Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Jones (British Army officer, born 1936)</span>

Sir Charles Edward Webb Jones, was a senior officer in the British Army. He served as Quartermaster-General and as Britain's military representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). He retired from the Army in 1995 to become Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the British Parliament's House of Lords, serving in that office until 2001.

General Sir Richard Brooking Trant, KCB, DL was an officer in the British Army. He was Land Deputy Commander in the Falklands War, and served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1983 to 1986.

Lieutenant General Sir John Panton Kiszely, is a retired senior British Army officer who was director general of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom from 2005 to 2008. He is a former national president of The Royal British Legion.

Air Vice-Marshal Richard Howard Lacey is a retired Royal Air Force officer who served as the Commander of British Forces Cyprus and UK National Military Representative to the NATO HQ at SHAPE in Belgium.

Major General Edward Bailey Ashmore, was a British Army officer from the 1890s to the 1920s who served in the Royal Artillery, the Royal Flying Corps and briefly in the Royal Air Force before founding and developing the organisation that would become the Royal Observer Corps.

Major General Richard Matthew McQueen Sykes CVO is a retired senior British Army officer. From 2010 to 2014 he was group chief executive of Elizabeth Finn Care, a large charity providing relief from poverty in the UK. A former British Army officer, his military career culminated as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel) in the UK Ministry of Defence. At the same he served as the Defence Services Secretary from 2007 to 2010 in the Royal Household. He is currently chief executive of the Sir Simon Milton Foundation.

Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Richard Viggers, is a former senior British Army officer who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces immediately prior to his retirement in 2008. He was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod from 30 April 2009 to 28 October 2010. He also served in Bosnia in the aftermath of the breakup of Yugoslavia, and in the Iraq War.

General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, 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.

General Sir William Gurdon Stirling, was a British Army officer who reached high office during the 1960s.

Lieutenant General Sir George Sinclair Cole was a senior British Army officer who achieved high office in the 1960s.

General Sir John Houghton Gibbon, was a British Army officer who served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1974 until his retirement in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Barrons</span> British Army officer (born 1959)

General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons, is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.

Major General James Henry Gordon, is a former British Army officer who served as Commander British Forces Cyprus from 2008 to 2010.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN   978-1-408-11414-8
  2. Strachan, Hew (2006). Big wars and small wars: the British army and the lessons of war in the twentieth century. Psychology Press. p. 154. ISBN   9780203012307.
  3. Oakley, Derek (1998). The Falklands military machine. Spellmount. p. 173. ISBN   9780946771240.
  4. The Army quarterly and defence journal, Volume 124. West of England Press. 1994. p. 26.
  5. "Court Circular". The Times . 22 December 2007.[ dead link ]
Military offices
Preceded by Defence Services Secretary
19911994
Succeeded by