Richard Thompson (Royal Navy officer)

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Sir Richard Thompson
RAdm Richard Thompson (cropped).jpg
Rear Admiral Thompson in 2016
Born (1966-02-12) 12 February 1966 (age 58)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1985–present
Rank Vice Admiral
Battles/wars Gulf War
Sierra Leone Civil War
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Alma mater King's College London
Royal Naval Engineering College

Vice Admiral Sir Richard Charles Thompson, KCB , CBE , FRS , CEng , FRAeS (born 12 February 1966) is a senior Royal Navy officer.

Contents

Early life and education

Thompson was born on 12 February 1966 in Reading, Berkshire, England. He was educated at Meadway School, a state school in Reading. He studied engineering at the Royal Naval Engineering College and King's College London. [1]

Thompson joined the Royal Navy in 1985. [2] He served with 845 Naval Air Squadron from 1989 to 1991, and with 849 Naval Air Squadron from 1991 to 1993. [1] He served as Senior Air Engineer on the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and went on to be team leader responsible for the procurement and integration of the Lightning II multirole combat aircraft. [2] He was promoted to commodore on 27 July 2012. [3]

Thompson became Director (Technical) at the Military Aviation Authority in October 2016. [4] He was appointed Director General Air at Defence Equipment and Support and Air Member for Materiel on the Air Force Board in September 2020. [5]

Thompson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 Birthday Honours, [6] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours. [7] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2023 Birthday Honours. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Thompson, Rear Adm. Richard Charles, (born 12 Feb. 1966), Managing Director, Sealand Support Services Ltd, since 2018". Who's Who 2020 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U278745. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 "New Director General Announced". Ministry of Defence. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. "No. 60255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 September 2012. p. 16941.
  4. "Rear Admiral Richard Thompson CBE MA BEng(Hons) CEng FRAeS RN". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  5. "Senior Appointments". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. "No. 58358". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2007. p. 4.
  7. "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 5.
  8. "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B2.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Materiel – Air, Defence Equipment and Support
and Air Member for Materiel

2020–present
Incumbent