General John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond, is a retired senior British Army officer and former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the British Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, following the retirement of General Sir David Richards. He served as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, the Green Howards in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and later became Commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. He deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq during the Iraq War. Later, he became Chief of Joint Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters and served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff until assuming the position of CDS. Houghton retired from the British Army in July 2016, and was succeeded as CDS by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach.
General David Julian Richards, Baron Richards of Herstmonceux, is a retired senior British Army officer and Peer who was formerly the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010.
Major general is a "two-star" rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank was also briefly used by the Royal Air Force for a year and a half, from its creation in April 1918 until August 1919. In the British Army, a major general is the customary rank for the appointment of division commander. In the Royal Marines, the Commandant General holds at least the rank of major general.
Major General Garry Stuart Robison, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant-General Royal Marines and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces from 2006 to 2009.
General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, is a retired senior Royal Marines officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from May 2016 to May 2019. As a colonel he commanded 40 Commando during the Iraq War, and led the Commando in the assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula. He served as British Commander of Task Force Helmand, during the 3 Commando Brigade deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Operation Herrick IX from 2008 to 2009. After his retirement, Messenger has held ceremonial positions, including Lord High Steward at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
Andrew Salmon is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2009 to 2010.
General Sir Adrian John Bradshaw, is a former British Army officer who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He also served as Director Special Forces from 2006 to 2009 and Commander Land Forces in 2013.
Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin "Jim" Dutton, is a retired Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar. He held various staff positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. As a brigadier, he held two high-level staff posts—the first at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Director of NATO policy, and the second as a British liaison to The Pentagon shortly after the September 11 attacks, where he was involved in the planning for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.
Major General Francis Hedley Roberton "Buster" Howes, is a former Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from February 2010 to December 2011.
Lieutenant General Edward Grant Martin Davis, is a former senior Royal Marines officer. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from December 2011 to June 2014, and the Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, from 2014 to 2015. He was Governor of Gibraltar from 2016 to 2020.
Lieutenant General Sir Henry York La Roche Beverley, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1990 to 1994.
Lieutenant General Sir David Andrew Capewell, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2011 to 2015.
Major General Martin Linn Smith, is a former senior Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2014 to 2016. He was previously commander of 3 Commando Brigade, and before that Commanding Officer of 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group and Deputy Commander of 3 Commando Brigade. Smith is currently a non-executive adviser of Texo Group.
Major-General Robert Dyer Houghton,, commonly known as "Titch", was a Royal Marines officer of the Second World War and post-war period.
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Alasdair James Walker, was a British medical doctor and senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Surgeon-General of the British Armed Forces.
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Andrew Magowan, is a senior Royal Marines officer who serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since May 2022. He previously served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Richard Stickland, is a senior Royal Marines officer, who served as the Chief of Joint Operations from November 2021 to November 2024. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from January 2018 to June 2019.
General Dame Sharon Patricia Moffat Nesmith, is a senior British Army officer. She has been Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff since June 2024, having served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff from August 2022 to May 2024. She became the first woman to command a British Army brigade in 2014, the first woman to command a British division-level formation in 2021, the first woman to be promoted to lieutenant general in the British Army in 2022 and the first to be promoted to general in 2024.
Major General Matthew John Holmes, was a British senior Royal Marines officer who served for more than three decades in the armed forces. After studying economics at the University of Exeter, he joined the Royal Marines and undertook early tours of duty to Norway, the Far East, Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe. After being deployed to Kosovo and Afghanistan, he commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in Afghanistan, as well as the United States Legion of Merit for his exceptionally meritorious service. Holmes served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 to 2021.
Major-General Richard John Cantrill, is a senior Royal Marines officer. In 2024 he became Commander Operations, the first Royal Marine to hold the post.
