James Chiswell

James Chiswell
Major General Chiswell in 2014
Born	(1964-03-29) 29 March 1964 (age 61) Berlin, Germany
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Years of service	1983–2018
Rank	Major General
Service number	515950
Commands	United Kingdom Special Forces 1st (UK) Armoured Division 16 Air Assault Brigade 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Battles / wars	Sierra Leone Civil War War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross
Spouse(s)	Linda Metcalf ​ (m. 2006)​

Major General James Robert Chiswell, CB , CBE , MC (born 29 March 1964) is a former British Army officer.

Early life and education

Born in Berlin to Major General Peter Chiswell, James Chiswell was educated at Allhallows College and King's College London. ^[1]

Military career

Chiswell was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1983. ^{[2] [3]} He took part in Operation Barras in Sierra Leone in September 2000 for which he was awarded the Military Cross (MC). ^[4]

Chiswell became Commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment in 2004 and led his battalion in Iraq. ^[3] He was then sent to Permanent Joint Headquarters, Northwood as Assistant Chief of Staff with responsibility for current operations. ^[3] He went on to be Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. in 2008 and Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade in December 2008 seeing service as Commander Task Force Helmand when the brigade was deployed to Afghanistan in October 2010. ^[3] Chiswell was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in September 2011 in recognition of his service in Afghanistan. ^[5] He became General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division in October 2012 ^[6] and Director Special Forces in 2015. ^[7] Chiswell was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2018 Birthday Honours. ^[8] Chiswell retired from the British Army on 22 September 2018. ^[9]

Personal life

Chiswell married Linda Metcalf in 2006; they have one son and a daughter. ^[1]

Honours and awards

Source: ^[10]

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Commander of the Order of the Bath	Appointed in 2018 [8]
	Commander of the Order of the British Empire	Appointed in 2011 [5]
	Military Cross	Awarded in 2000 [4]
	UN Mission in Cyprus
	General Service Medal (1962)
	UN Mission in the Former Yugoslavia
	Operational Service Medal for Sierra Leone	With Bar
	Iraq Medal (United Kingdom)
	Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
	Accumulated Campaign Service Medal

References

1. "Chiswell, Maj. Gen. James Robert, (born 29 March 1964), General Officer Commanding 1st (UK) Division (formerly 1st (UK) Armoured Division), 2012–15". Who's Who . 2013. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.257840.
2. "No. 49385". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1983. p. 7892.
3. "Major-General James Chiswell". Paradata. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
4. "No. 57070". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 2003. p. 12067.
5. "No. 59924". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 2011. p. 18713.
6. "Army Commands" (PDF). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
7. "Jordan, UK discuss military cooperation". The Jordan Times . 19 January 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
8. "No. 62310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 2018. p. B3.
9. "No. 62419". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 September 2018. p. 17067.
10. "Photo of James Chiswell".

Military offices
Preceded by James Bashall	General Officer Commanding 1st (UK) Armoured Division 2012–2015	Succeeded by Giles Hill
Preceded by Mark Carleton-Smith	Director Special Forces 2015–2018	Succeeded by Roland Walker