Peter Grant Peterkin | |
---|---|
Serjeant-at-Arms of the British House of Commons | |
In office 31 December 2004 –24 June 2007 | |
Speaker | Michael Martin |
Preceded by | Sir Michael Cummins |
Succeeded by | Jill Pay |
Personal details | |
Born | 6 July 1947 |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Durham University |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | British Army |
Years of service | 1967–2004 |
Rank | Major-General |
Commands | 5th Division 24th Airmobile Brigade |
Battles/wars | Kosovo War |
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
Major General Anthony Peter Grant Peterkin, CB , OBE (born 6 July 1947) is a retired senior British Army officer. He was the British House of Commons' Serjeant at Arms between 2004 and 2007.
Grant Peterkin was born on 6 July 1947. [1] He is the son of Brigadier James Grant Peterkin and his wife Dorothea Grant Peterkin. He was educated at Ampleforth College,then an all-boys private school in Ampleforth,North Yorkshire. [2]
Having graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,Grant Peterkin was commissioned into the Queen's Own Highlanders on 28 July 1967 as a second lieutenant. He was given the service number 483916. [3] In 1968,he was selected for an in-service degree and began studying history at Durham University. [4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 28 January 1969. [5] He was a member of Hatfield College during his studies, [6] and graduated from Durham with a Bachelor of Arts in 1971. [2] He was promoted to captain on 28 July 1973, [7] and then served as aide-de-camp to the Chief of the General Staff,General Sir Peter Hunt. [2] He was promoted to major on 31 December 1979, [8] and then attended the Indian Staff College in 1980. [2] Following this experience he rejoined the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Own Highlanders in Hong Kong and later took them to the Falkland Islands in the aftermath of the Falklands War. [9]
After a posting at the Ministry of Defence,Grant Peterkin attended the Australian Joint Services Staff College in 1986, [2] and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 31 December 1986 with seniority in that rank from 30 June 1986. [10] He was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion,Queen's Own Highlanders in 1987. Then,from 1989 to 1991,he was Military Assistant to the Military Secretary. [2] Grant Peterkin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 New Year Honours and, [11] in the aftermath of the Gulf War,he joined the United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission,heading the British contingent of border observers. [9] He was appointed commander of the 24th Airmobile Brigade in 1993, [12] and then became Deputy Military Secretary in 1996. [12]
In 1999 Grant Peterkin went on a mission,arranged by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,to Kosovo [12] and then later that year he was appointed the senior Army representative at the Royal College of Defence Studies. [13] In October 1999 he became General Officer Commanding 5th Division. [14] He became Military Secretary in 2000 before retiring in 2004. [15] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2003 New Year Honours. [16]
Grant Peterkin was appointed Serjeant at Arms in 2004. His contract was not renewed in 2007 after suggestions of a falling out with Michael Martin,the Speaker of the House of Commons. [17]
In 1974,Grant Peterkin married Joanna Young,daughter of Sir Brian Young. Together,they have had two children;one son and one daughter. [2]
General Sir Peter Mervyn Hunt,was Chief of the General Staff,the professional head of the British Army,from 1973 to 1976. He served in the Second World War and commanded British Forces deployed in response to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Later in his career he provided advice to the British Government at a time of continuing tension associated with the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Admiral of the Fleet Terence Thornton Lewin,Baron Lewin,was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Second World War and then commanded a destroyer,the Royal yacht,two frigates and an aircraft carrier before achieving higher command. He was First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1970s and in that role he worked hard to secure a decent wage for servicemen and helped win them a 32% pay rise. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff during the Falklands War,serving as chief war planner and as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's chief advisor during the war. He was also the first Chief of Defence Staff to act as professional head of the Armed Forces rather than just Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Sir Thomas Woodcock FRHSC is a genealogist who served as Garter Principal King of Arms at the College of Arms from 2010 to 2021.
Major General Julian Howard Atherden Thompson,is a military historian and former Royal Marines officer who commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War.
Major General Nicholas Jeremy Cottam,is a retired senior British Army officer who served as Military Secretary and thereafter Registrar of St Paul's Cathedral.
Lieutenant General Sir John Richard Alexander MacMillan,is a Scottish officer in the British Army who served as General Officer Commanding Scotland. While he was at university,he was a rower and represented Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Vice-Admiral Sir John Michael Dudgeon Gray was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief,South Atlantic and South America Station.
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson,is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet.
Vice Admiral Sir Charles Anthony Johnstone-Burt,is a retired Royal Navy officer who is currently serving as the Master of the Household. In this role,he took part in the 2023 Coronation.
Major General David Anthony Somerset Pennefather,is a former Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1996 to 1998.
Lieutenant General Peter Thomas Clayton Pearson,is a former British Army officer who served as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 2006 to 2007.
Richard Morgan Llewellyn,is a retired senior British Army officer. He was general officer commanding,Wales District from 1987 to 1990,and chief of staff at HQ Land Forces from 1990 to 1991. Upon retirement the army,he was ordained in the Church of England and is currently Welsh Vice-Patron of the War Memorials Trust.
Major General Michael James von Bertele is a retired senior British Army officer. From 2009 to 2012,he was Director General of the Army Medical Services.
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Richard Stickland,is a senior Royal Marines officer,who has served as the Chief of Joint Operations since November 2021. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from January 2018 to June 2019.
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 Sir Frederick Gordon,was a senior British Army officer,who additionally served as a major general in the early Royal Air Force.
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth,is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer,who has been the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since March 2024. Previously,he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group (2018–2020) and Air and Space Commander (2022–2024). Between February 2020 and August 2022,he took up the new post of Director Space,in the Ministry of Defence.
Lieutenant General James Francis Pardoe Swift,is a retired senior British Army officer.
Rear Admiral Peter Gerald Hammersley CB OBE was an English Royal Navy officer who served from 1946 to 1982. Hammersley won a scholarship to Britannia Royal Naval College to train as a deck officer but his eyesight was too poor. Instead,he chose to become an engineer and studied at the Royal Naval Engineering College from 1946 to 1950. He trained onboard HMS Frobisher and HMS Duke of York and served on HMS Ocean during the Korean War. Hammersley specialised in submarines from 1954 and in 1959 served on secondment to the US Navy on the nuclear submarine Nautilus. In 1960 he became the first marine engineering officer to serve aboard the Royal Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine,HMS Dreadnought. Hammersley helped design the Swiftsure-class of submarines and commanded a number of shore installations including the Royal Naval Engineering College. He served as aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II and was Chief Staff Officer Engineering for the fleet in the 1982 Falklands War. After retirement in 1982 he served in roles in a number of commercial and charitable organisations.
Major General James Scott-Elliot,was a senior British Army officer.