Chief of the General Staff | |
---|---|
Ministry of Defence British Army | |
Abbreviation | CGS |
Member of | Defence Council Army Board Chiefs of Staff Committee |
Reports to | Chief of the Defence Staff |
Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
Appointer | The Monarch On the advice of the Prime Minister, subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council |
Term length | No fixed length |
Precursor | Commander-in-Chief of the Forces |
Formation | 1904, 1964 |
First holder | Sir Neville Lyttelton |
Deputy | Deputy Chief of the General Staff |
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). Since 1959, the post has been immediately subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the post held by the professional head of the British Armed Forces.
The current Chief of the General Staff is General Sir Roland Walker, who succeeded General Sir Patrick Sanders in the role on 15 June 2024. [1]
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is the professional head of the Army, with responsibility for developing and generating military capability from an integrated Army (Regular and Reserve) and for maintaining the fighting effectiveness, efficiency and morale of the Service. The CGS reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and, as a Service COS, has a right of direct access to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. The CGS is a member of the Defence Council and the Army Board, the Armed Forces Committee, the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Senior Appointments Committee. Responsibile for:
The title was also used for five years between the demise of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1904 and the introduction of Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1909. The post was then held by General Sir Neville Lyttelton and, briefly, by Field Marshal Sir William Nicholson.
Throughout the existence of the post the Chief of the General Staff has been the First Military Member of the Army Board. [3]
Royal Navy | British Army | Royal Air Force | Combined | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1645 | N/A | Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (1645/60–1904, intermittently) | N/A. The RAF was formed in 1918 | |
1689 | Senior Naval Lord (1689–1771) | |||
1771 | First Naval Lord (1771–1904) | |||
1904 | First Sea Lord (1904–1917) | Chief of the General Staff (1904–1909) | Inter-service co-ordination was carried out from 1904 by the Committee of Imperial Defence under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister | |
1909 | Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1909–1964) | |||
1917 | First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1917–present) | |||
1918 | Chief of the Air Staff (1918–present) | |||
1923 | Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (1923–1959, held by one of the service heads until 1956) | |||
1959 | Chief of the Defence Staff (1959–present) | |||
1964 | Chief of the General Staff (1964–present) |
The Chief was responsible for commanding the entire British Army. During the Second World War, General Brooke focused on grand strategy, and his relationships, through the Combined Chiefs of Staff with his American counterparts. He was also responsible for the appointment and evaluation of senior commanders, allocation of manpower and equipment, and the organisation of tactical air forces in support of land operations of field commanders; he also had primary responsibility for supervising the military operations of the Free French, Polish, Dutch, Belgian, and Czech units reporting to their governments in exile in London. Brooke vigorously allocated responsibilities to his deputies, and despite the traditional historical distrust that had existed between the military and the political side of the War Office, he got along quite well with his counterpart, the Secretary of State for War, first David Margesson and later, Sir James Grigg. [4]
The following table lists all those who have held the post of Chief of the General Staff or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:
No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiefs of the General Staff | ||||||
1 | Sir Neville Lyttelton (1845–1931) | General12 February 1904 | 2 April 1908 | 4 years, 50 days | [5] | |
2 | Sir William Nicholson (1845–1918) | Field Marshal2 April 1908 | 22 November 1909 | 1 year, 234 days | [6] | |
Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff | ||||||
2 | Sir William Nicholson (1845–1918) | Field Marshal22 November 1909 | 15 March 1912 | 2 years, 114 days | [7] | |
3 | Sir John French (1852–1925) | Field Marshal15 March 1912 | 6 April 1914 | 2 years, 22 days | [8] | |
4 | Sir Charles Douglas (1850–1914) | General6 April 1914 | 25 October 1914 † | 202 days | [9] | |
5 | Sir James Wolfe Murray (1853–1919) | Lieutenant-General25 October 1914 | 26 September 1915 | 1 year, 154 days | [10] | |
6 | Sir Archibald Murray (1860–1945) | Lieutenant-General26 September 1915 | 23 December 1915 | 88 days | [11] | |
7 | Sir William Robertson (1860–1933) | General23 December 1915 | 19 February 1918 | 2 years, 58 days | [12] | |
8 | Sir Henry Wilson (1864–1922) | Field Marshal19 February 1918 | 19 February 1922 | 4 years | [13] | |
9 | Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (1865–1946) | Field Marshal19 February 1922 | 19 February 1926 | 4 years | [14] | |
10 | Sir George Milne (1866–1948) | Field Marshal19 February 1926 | 19 February 1933 | 7 years | [15] | |
11 | Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd (1871–1947) | Field Marshal19 February 1933 | 15 May 1936 | 3 years, 86 days | [16] | |
12 | Sir Cyril Deverell (1874–1947) | Field Marshal15 May 1936 | 6 December 1937 | 1 year, 205 days | [17] | |
13 | John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (1886–1946) | General6 December 1937 | 3 September 1939 | 1 year, 271 days | [18] | |
14 | Sir Edmund Ironside (1880–1959) | General4 September 1939 | 26 May 1940 | 266 days | [19] | |
15 | Sir John Dill (1881–1944) | Field Marshal26 May 1940 | 25 December 1941 | 1 year, 213 days | [20] | |
16 | Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke (1883–1963) | Field Marshal25 December 1941 | 25 June 1946 | 4 years, 182 days | [21] | |
17 | Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887–1976) | Field Marshal26 June 1946 | 1 November 1948 | 2 years, 129 days | [21] [22] | |
18 | Sir William Slim (1891–1970) | Field Marshal1 November 1948 | 1 November 1952 | 4 years | [23] | |
19 | Sir John Harding (1896–1989) | Field Marshal1 November 1952 | 29 September 1955 | 2 years, 332 days | [24] | |
20 | Sir Gerald Templer (1898–1979) | Field Marshal29 September 1955 | 29 September 1958 | 3 years | [25] | |
21 | Sir Francis Festing (1902–1976) | Field Marshal29 September 1958 | 1 November 1961 | 3 years, 33 days | [26] | |
22 | Sir Richard Hull (1902–1989) | General1 November 1961 | April 1964 | 2 years, 5 months | [27] [28] [29] | |
Chiefs of the General Staff | ||||||
22 | Sir Richard Hull (1902–1989) [a] | Field MarshalApril 1964 | 8 February 1965 | 10 months | - | |
23 | Sir James Cassels (1907–1996) | General8 February 1965 | 1 March 1968 | 3 years, 22 days | [28] | |
24 | Sir Geoffrey Baker (1912–1980) [b] | General1 March 1968 | 1 April 1971 | 3 years, 31 days | [30] [31] [32] | |
25 | Sir Michael Carver (1915–2001) [a] | Field Marshal1 April 1971 | 19 July 1973 | 2 years, 109 days | [33] [31] | |
26 | Sir Peter Hunt (1916–1988) [b] | General19 July 1973 | 15 July 1976 | 2 years, 362 days | [34] [35] | |
27 | Sir Roland Gibbs (1921–2004) [b] | General15 July 1976 | 14 July 1979 | 2 years, 364 days | [36] [37] | |
28 | Sir Edwin Bramall (1923–2019) [a] | Field Marshal14 July 1979 | 1 August 1982 | 3 years, 18 days | [38] [39] [40] | |
29 | Sir John Stanier (1925–2007) [b] | General1 August 1982 | 28 July 1985 | 2 years, 361 days | [35] [41] [42] | |
30 | Sir Nigel Bagnall (1927–2002) | General28 July 1985 | 10 September 1988 | 3 years, 44 days | [43] | |
31 | Sir John Chapple (1931–2022) | General10 September 1988 | 14 February 1992 | 3 years, 157 days | [44] | |
32 | Sir Peter Inge (1935–2022) [a] [b] | General14 February 1992 | 15 March 1994 | 2 years, 29 days | [35] [45] [46] | |
33 | Sir Charles Guthrie (born 1938) [a] | General15 March 1994 | 3 February 1997 | 2 years, 325 days | [46] [47] | |
34 | Sir Roger Wheeler (born 1941) [b] | General3 February 1997 | 17 April 2000 | 3 years, 74 days | [48] [49] | |
35 | Sir Michael Walker (born 1944) [a] | General17 April 2000 | 1 February 2003 | 2 years, 290 days | [50] [51] [52] | |
36 | Sir Mike Jackson (1944–2024) | General1 February 2003 | 29 August 2006 | 3 years, 209 days | [53] | |
37 | Sir Richard Dannatt (born 1950) [b] | General29 August 2006 | 28 August 2009 | 2 years, 364 days | [54] [55] | |
38 | Sir David Richards (born 1952) [a] | General28 August 2009 | 15 September 2010 | 1 year, 18 days | [56] [57] | |
39 | Sir Peter Wall (born 1955) | General15 September 2010 | 5 September 2014 | 3 years, 355 days | [58] | |
40 | Sir Nick Carter (born 1959) [a] | General5 September 2014 | 11 June 2018 | 3 years, 279 days | [59] | |
41 | Sir Mark Carleton-Smith (born 1964) | General11 June 2018 | 13 June 2022 | 4 years, 2 days | [60] | |
42 | Sir Patrick Sanders (born 1966) | General13 June 2022 | 15 June 2024 | 2 years, 183 days | [61] | |
43 | Sir Roland Walker (born 1970) | General15 June 2024 | 181 days | [1] |
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