David Pennefather

Last updated

David Pennefather
Born (1945-05-17) 17 May 1945 (age 78)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Marines
Years of service1965–1998
Rank Major General
Commands held Commandant General Royal Marines
3 Commando Brigade
42 Commando
Battles/wars The Troubles
Falklands War
Bosnian War
Awards Companion of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches

Major General David Anthony Somerset Pennefather, CB , OBE (born 17 May 1945) is a former Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1996 to 1998.

Contents

Military career

Pennefather was educated at Wellington College and joined the Royal Marines in 1963. [1] He was commissioned as an acting lieutenant in 1965. [2] He was mentioned in despatches for service during the Falklands War. [3]

Pennefather was Commanding Officer of 42 Commando from 1988 to 1990, [4] and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 "in recognition of meritorious service in Northern Ireland". [5] He became commander of 3 Commando Brigade in 1992 and commander of the United Nations Rapid Reaction Force during the Bosnian War, [6] for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. [7] He went on to be Commandant General Royal Marines in 1996 before retiring in 1998. [8]

Later life

In retirement Pennefather became Secretary of the Royal Humane Society, [9] and a director of the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill</span>

Field Marshal Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill, was a British Army officer. After serving with British Army of the Rhine he served with the Commonwealth Brigade in Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He commanded the 12th Light Air Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, and later commanded the 19th Airportable Brigade. Although he never served as one of the individual service heads, he went on to be Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in the late 1980s and then Chief of the Defence Staff in the aftermath of the Gulf War. He subsequently became Chair of the Military Committee of NATO in the mid-1990s.

General Sir Rupert Anthony Smith, is a retired British Army officer and author of The Utility of Force. He was a senior commander during the Gulf War, for which he was recognised with the award of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and again during the Bosnian War, for which he was recognised with the award of a bar to his DSO. He later became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Fulton (Royal Marines officer)</span> Governor of Gibraltar

Lieutenant General Sir Robert Henry Gervase Fulton, is a retired British Royal Marines officer who served as Governor of Gibraltar from 2006 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Moore</span> British Royal Marine officer (1928–2007)

Major General Sir John Jeremy Moore, was a British senior Royal Marine officer who served as the commander of the British land forces during the Falklands War in 1982. Moore received the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Robison</span>

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 Norman Hastings Tailyour, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1965 to 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Wall (British Army officer)</span> British Army general

General Sir Peter Anthony Wall, is a retired British Army officer who served as the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, until September 2014. Wall had previously been the Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces from August 2009 to September 2010. He succeeded General Sir David Richards as Chief of the General Staff in September 2010, the latter going on a month later to be Chief of the Defence Staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Salmon</span> Retired Royal Marines officer (born 1959)

Major General Andrew Salmon, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2009 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dutton (Royal Marines officer)</span> Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar (born 1954)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buster Howes</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Davis (Royal Marines officer)</span> British senior Royal Marines officer

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 Anthony Arthur Milton, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2002 to 2004.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Smith (Royal Marines officer)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Magowan</span> Royal Marines General

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.

General Sir Ian Hurry Riches, was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1959 to 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwyn Jenkins</span> Royal Marines general

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.

References

  1. PENNEFATHER, Maj.-Gen. David Anthony Somerset, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, 2017 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2016)
  2. "No. 43836". The London Gazette . 10 December 1965. p. 11546.
  3. "No. 49134". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 October 1982. p. 12842.
  4. Combat Zone
  5. "No. 52324". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1990. p. 17199.
  6. War and Peacekeeping in the Former Yugoslavia
  7. "No. 54393". The London Gazette . 10 May 1996. p. 6546.
  8. Royal Navy Senior Appointments Archived March 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Sailor Carl hailed a hero after digger sea rescue Archived 21 April 2013 at archive.today Tameside Advertiser, 8 December 2004
  10. Major General David Anthony Somerset Pennefather
Military offices
Preceded by Commandant General Royal Marines
1996–1998
Succeeded by