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.
Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour, is a British author, sailor, and retired Royal Marine. He served for 32 years in the Royal Marines and, after retiring, he concentrated on his sailing and writing careers and has written a number of books on military history and the Royal Marines.
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 Richard Lawson Barrons, is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.
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.
Major General David Wilson, is a retired senior Royal Marines officer who briefly served as Commandant General Royal Marines from February to August 2004.
Major General David Anthony Somerset Pennefather, is a former Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1996 to 1998.
General Sir Basil Ian Spencer Gourlay, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1971 to 1975.
General Sir Peter William Cradock Hellings, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1968 to 1971.
General Sir Campbell Richard Hardy, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1955 to 1959.
Major General Denis Arthur Kay Redman, CB, OBE was a senior British Army officer. He was Director of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from 1960 to 1963 and therefore head of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He served as Colonel Commandant of REME from 1963 to 1968.
Lieutenant General 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.
General Sir Ian Hurry Riches, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1959 to 1962.
General Gwyn Jenkins, is the senior Royal Marines officer, serving as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff since August 2022. He was concurrently appointed Commandant General Royal Marines in November 2022.
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 Zachary Raymond Stenning, is a senior British Army officer who has been serving as the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since August 2022.
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours, political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.
Air Marshal Stephen Jeffrey Shell, is a senior Royal Air Force officer. He has served as director general of the Defence Safety Authority (DSA) since January 2022. He had served as director of the Military Aviation Authority from 2018 to 2021.
