Deputy Commander Field Army (United Kingdom)

The Deputy Commander Field Army is a senior British Army officer who serves as deputy to the Commander Field Army. It currently is held by an Army Reserve officer.

History

The UK Field Army was first established in 1982 when the Deputy Commander-in-Chief at UK Land Forces was designated Commander of that formation. In 1995 the designation changed to Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Land Command. The Field Army was re-established in 2003, under the LANDmark reorganisation. ^[1] The Commander of the Field Army had two deployable Divisions (1st Armoured Division and 3rd Mechanised Division), HQ 6th Division, Theatre Troops, Joint Helicopter Command, and Training Support under him. The post of Commander Field Army ceased to exist from 1 November 2011 following a major army command reorganisation. ^[2] The post of Deputy Commander Land Forces was recreated again in January 2012. ^[3]

Recent Deputy Commanders

Recent Commanders have been: ^[3]
Deputy Commander-in-Chief UK Land Forces

• 1972-1973 Lieutenant-General Sir Frank King
• 1973-1976 Lieutenant-General Sir Allan Taylor
• 1976-1977 Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Beach
• 1977-1980 Lieutenant-General Sir Peter Hudson
• 1980-1982 Lieutenant-General Sir Frank Kitson

Commander UK Field Army

• 1982-1984 Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Burgess
• 1984-1987 Lieutenant-General Sir John Akehurst
• 1987-1990 Lieutenant-General Sir David Ramsbotham
• 1990-1993 Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Wilkes
• 1993-1994 Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Rose
• 1994-1995 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Swinburn

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Land Command

• 1995-1997 Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Pike
• 1997-2001 Lieutenant-General Sir Jack Deverell

Recent Deputy Commanders (Reserves)

See also: Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets)

Major General William O'Leary (left) and Major General Celia Harvey

In 2011 a two-star appointment was created for the officer commanding the Territorial Army; this officer has inherited the above designation. This now has separated. ^[4] Recent Commanders for the Territorial Army/Army Reserves have been:

Deputy Commander Land Forces (Reserves)

• 2011–2012 Major-General Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster ^[5]

Deputy Commander Land Forces

• 2012–2015 Major-General Ranald Munro ^[6]

Deputy Commander Field Army (Reserves)

Deputy Commander, Field Army (Reserves) [7]
Image	Rank	Name	Term began	Term ended	Ref
	Major General	Simon Brooks-Ward	October 2015	January 2018
	Major General	William O'Leary	January 2018	March 2020	[8]
	Major General	Celia Harvey	March 2020	March 2022	[9] [10]
	Major General	Aidan Smyth	April 2022		[11]

References

1. Lt Col Richard Quinlan, R Signals, HQ Theatre Troops, in News From Formations, The Wire, April 2003, p.127
2. Army Command reorganization Defence Marketing Intelligence, 10 November 2011 Archived November 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
3. Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
4. Mackie, Colin (19 February 2020). "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND TRI-SERVICE SENIOR APPOINTMENTS" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
5. First ever two star post created Ministry of Defence Archived 2012-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
6. Defence Medical Welfare Service: Patrons
7. Mackie, Colin (October 2021). "Army Senior Appointments: 1860–present" (PDF). Gulabin. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
8. "No. 62166". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 January 2018. p. 298.
9. "No. 62947". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 2020. p. 5503.
10. "First UK female Army Reservist to become a General Officer appointed". British Army. Andover. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
11. "No. 63685". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 May 2022. p. 8327.