The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has participated in campaigns in the First World War, the Second World War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan as well as numerous other operations throughout its history. The Irish Guards claim six Victoria Cross recipients, four from the First World War and two from the Second World War.
Field Marshal Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, is a retired senior officer of the British Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1994 to 1997 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1997 until his retirement in 2001.
Field Marshal Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan,, known as Viscount Kilcoursie from 1887 until 1900, was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, in the 1920s. After being commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in 1885, he served in the Second Boer War as a company commander, then served during the First World War as a brigade, divisional, corps, and army commander, and later advised the British Government on the implementation of the Geddes report, which advocated a large reduction in defence expenditure; he presided over a major reduction in the size of the British Army.
Major General Sir Evelyn John Webb-Carter, is a retired senior British Army officer. He was the last 'Colonel of the Regiment' of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (1999–2006), before their amalgamation into the Yorkshire Regiment, 3rd Battalion.
Major General Sir Christopher John Airy, is a retired British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding the London District and Major-General commanding the Household Division from 1986 to 1989.
The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division of the British Army and is also the General Officer Commanding London District. In British Army parlance, "The Major-General" always refers to the Major-General commanding the Household Division. The Major-General has sole responsibility for the Service aspect of all State and ceremonial occasions within London District. The office holds executive command of the Household Division and of any other units brought into London for providing military security to the Sovereign, the Royal Palaces as well as for ceremonial purposes and is the main channel of communication between the Household Division and the Monarch. He or she is appointed by The Sovereign, and will previously have commanded a Regiment or Battalion within the Household Division.
Major General Sir Simon Christie Cooper, is a retired British Army officer who served as Major-General commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District and later Master of the Household to the Sovereign.
Major General Sir Sebastian John Lechmere Roberts, was a senior British Army officer who served as the Senior Army Representative at the Royal College of Defence Studies.
General Sir James Newton Rodney Moore,, usually known as Sir Rodney Moore, was a senior British Army officer. He fought in the Second World War and Palestine Emergency, and was General Officer Commanding London District from 1957 to 1959. Moore was appointed the inaugural Chief of Malaysian Armed Forces Staff from 1959 to 1965, a post he occupied during the final stages of the Malayan Emergency and early period of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. His final posting was as Defence Services Secretary from 1964 to 1966.
General Sir Harry Crawford Tuzo,, was a British Army officer who was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and General Officer Commanding of the British Army in Northern Ireland during the early period of the Troubles.
General Sir Thomas Cecil Hook Pearson, was a senior officer of the British Army who served as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1972 to 1974. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living British full general.
Major General Sir William George Cubitt, is a former senior British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding London District and Major-General commanding the Household Division from 2007 until his retirement in 2011.
Major General Sir Iain Charles Mackay-Dick, Is a retired British Army officer. He was the Major-General commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District from 1994 to 1997.
Lieutenant General Sir George Pemberton Ross Norton, is a retired British Army officer. He was the UK Military Representative to NATO from 2016 to 2020, and has served as the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies since 2020.
Lieutenant General Sir Edward Alexander Smyth-Osbourne, is a retired senior British Army officer.
Major General Rupert Timothy Herbert Jones, is a retired senior British Army officer, who served as the Standing Joint Force Commander from November 2018 to July 2021.
Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin John Bathurst, is a senior British Army officer. He is to become the Governor of Gibraltar, replacing Sir David Steel, in June 2024.
Lieutenant General Douglas McKenzie Chalmers, is a former British Army officer who served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2021. He is currently Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Major General Timothy David Hyams, is a senior British Army officer.
Major General James Maurice Hannan Bowder, is a senior British Army officer. He currently serves as General Officer Commanding, London District and the Major-General commanding the Household Division.
