Army Secretariat Army Headquarters IDL 24 Blenheim Building Marlborough Lines Andover Hampshire, SP11 8HJ United Kingdom Ref: FOI2019/13423/13/04 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.army.mod.uk XXXXXX 09 January 2020 xxxxxxxxxxxxx Dear XXXXXX, Thank you for your letter of 06 December in which you requested the following information: “a. A current list as at 6 December 2019 of all the Honorary Colonels in the British Army b. An explanation as to how these appointments are advertised to ensure a wide diverse group as possible have an opportunity to be considered for these appointments c. An explanation as to how individuals are then selected for an appointment as an Honorary Colonel” I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can confirm that the information in scope of your request is held and is below. In response to first part of your request please find attached a list of Honorary Colonels in the British Army. Some of this information is exempt from release under section 40 (Personal Data) of the FOIA. Section 40(2) has been applied to some of the information to protect personal information as governed by the Data Protection Act 2018. Section 40 is an absolute exemption and there is therefore no requirement to consider the public interest in deciding to withhold the information. In response to second part of your request please note that appointments are selected by nominations after basic criteria is met. Please note that all nominations, except for Acting Colonels, require the approval of the Sovereign. The basic criteria are that the nominee should be: - A serving officer of the rank of Colonel or above; or - A retired officer of the substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel or above. This may include rank attainted in the Army Reserve. - Permanently resident in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Serving officers may hold an appointment whilst serving in Western Europe. In response to third part of your request selection for appointments is made by recommendation, which should be based upon the wishes of the senior officers of the Regiment or Corps, past and present. Recommendations for extensions are to be made to the Military Secretary (MS) through MS Hons. Selection for appointments: - The 9 principal Colonels Commandant or Masters appointments are selected by No1 Board chaired by Chief of General Staff (CGS) prior to ratification by The Sovereign. - The remaining Colonel and Deputy Colonel appointments are selected by the senior officers of respective Corps or Regiments. Appointments are ratified by MS prior to submission to The Sovereign. MS will refer higher profile or contentious appointments to No2 Board. Should further escalation be warranted, nominations will be considered by No1 Board. Please note that appointments (not including Acting Colonels) are published in the Supplement to the London Gazette. Under Section 16 (Advice and Assistance) you may find it useful to know that Colonel Commandant of the Royal Armoured Corps, the Infantry, the Divisions of Infantry and the Parachute Regiment are appointed for a minimum period of three years which may be extended to a maximum of five years. Master Generals of the Royal Logistic Corps and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers are appointed for 3 – 5 years. The age limit for Colonels is 70 years, with the exception of Colonels of Regiments of the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards who hold their appointments at the Sovereign’s pleasure. If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office in the first instance. Following this, if you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content of this response, you can request an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail CIO- [email protected]). Please note that any request for an internal review should be made within 40 working days of the date of this response. If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website at https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely, Manning Portfolio 2 Army Secretariat OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE STAFF COLONELS AND COLONELS COMMANDANT Serial Appointment Rank, Name & Decorations Date of Tenure Appt Expires 1 The Life Guards Lt Gen Sir Edward SMYTH-OSBOURNE 3.6.19 See Note 1 (Colonel) KCVO CBE 2 The Blues and Royals HRH The Princess Royal KG KT GCVO 1.9.98 See Note 1 (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) QSO (Colonel) 3 Household Cavalry Col C A LOCKHART MBE ADC 26.3.19 26.3.24 (Lieutenant Colonel Commanding) (Crispin) 4 Royal Armoured Corps Lt Gen Sir Edward SMYTH-OSBOURNE 13.5.19 13.5.22 (Colonel Commandant) KCVO CBE 5 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Brig A S RICHMOND OBE 23.5.19 23.5.24 (Colonel) (Alan) 6 The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Brig (Retd) H D ALLFREY MBE 1.10.15 1.10.20 (Colonel) (David) 7 The Royal Dragoon Guards Maj Gen T D HYAMS OBE 29.11.19 29.11.24 (Colonel) (Tim) 8 The Queen’s Royal Hussars Lt Gen (Retd) Sir Thomas BECKETT 30.11.14 30.11.21 (Colonel) KCB CBE 9 The Royal Lancers Col (Retd) R A CHARRINGTON 10.6.19 10.6.24 (Colonel) (Richard) 10 The King’s Royal Hussars Gen (Retd) Sir Adrian BRADSHAW KCB 5.12.17 5.12.22 (Colonel) OBE 11 The Light Dragoons Maj Gen (Retd) D J RUTHERFORD– 13.5.13 13.5.23 (Colonel) JONES CB (David) 12 Royal Tank Regiment Brig G J THOMPSON 7.12.18 7.12.23 (Colonel Commandant) (Gavin) 13 Royal Tank Regiment Col N J COWEY MBE 7.12.18 7.12.23 (Deputy Colonel Commandant) (Nick) 14 Royal Tank Regiment Col J S WILLIAMS 7.12.18 7.12.23 (Deputy Colonel Commandant) (Jason) 15 Master Gunner Lt Gen (Retd) Sir Andrew GREGORY 1.5.17 1.5.22 St James’s Park KBE CB 16 Royal Regiment of Artillery Lt Gen (Retd) Sir Andrew GREGORY 1.3.12 1.5.22 (Colonel Commandant) KCB CB 17 Royal Regiment of Artillery Lt Gen R E NUGEE CVO CBE 8.6.12 1.4.24 (Colonel Commandant) (Richard) 18 Royal Regiment of Artillery Maj Gen (Retd) N MARSHALL OBE 1.3.17 1.3.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Neil) 19 Royal Regiment of Artillery Maj Gen (Retd) R P M WEIGHILL CBE 1.3.17 1.3.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Rob) 20 Royal Regiment of Artillery Brig (Retd) I G HARRISON CBE 1.3.17 1.3.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Iain) 21 Royal Regiment of Artillery Colonel (Retd) B W JENKINS 1.3.17 1.3.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Barry) 22 Royal Regiment of Artillery Maj Gen W J F BRAMBLE CBE 1.6.18 1.6.23 (Colonel Commandant) (William) 23 Royal Regiment of Artillery Lt Gen S R SKEATES CBE 1.6.18 1.6.23 (Colonel Commandant) (Stuart) 24 Royal Regiment of Artillery Maj Gen J M J BENNETT CBE 1.8.19 1.8.24 (Colonel Commandant) (Jeremy) 25 Royal Regiment of Artillery Appointment Vacant (Colonel Commandant) 26 Royal Regiment of Artillery Appointment Vacant (Colonel Commandant) 27 Chief Royal Engineer & Colonel Lt Gen T R URCH CBE 14.9.18 14.9.23 Commandant (Both appointments to be held concurrently) OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE STAFF 06 Dec 19 OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE STAFF Serial Appointment Rank, Name & Decorations Date of Tenure Appt Expires 28 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen (Retd) K H CIMA CB 1.9.03 1.11.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Keith) 29 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen (Retd) Gen R R DAVIS CB 1.3.11 31.12.24 (Colonel Commandant) CBE (Dickie) 30 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen (Retd) S A BURLEY CB MBE 1.5.11 1.5.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Shaun) 31 Corps of Royal Engineers Lt Gen C L TICKELL CBE 16.10.13 16.10.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Chris) 32 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen (Retd) R J SEMPLE CBE 25.11.13 25.11.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Richard) 33 Corps of Royal Engineers Lt Gen R J CRIPWELL CB CBE 1.8.14 31.12.24 (Colonel Commandant) (Richard) 34 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen (Retd) A S DICKINSON CBE 14.10.14 31.12.24 (Colonel Commandant) (Alastair) 35 Corps of Royal Engineers Lt Gen R WARDLAW OBE 1.10.15 1.10.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Richard) 36 Corps of Royal Engineers Lt Gen I B L JONES CB 1.11.15 1.11.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Ivan) 37 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen N J CAVANAGH CB 20.10.16 20.10.21 (Colonel Commandant) (Nick) 38 Corps of Royal Engineers Maj Gen D W SOUTHALL CBE 1.4.19 1.4.24 (Colonel Commandant) (David) 39 Master of Signals & Colonel Lt Gen Sir Nicholas POPE KCB CBE 6.3.14 1.7.20 Commandant (Both appointments to be held concurrently) 40 Royal Corps of Signals Brig H J ROBERTSON QVRM TD VR 1.5.15 1.5.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Army Reserve) (Hugh) 41 Royal Corps of Signals Lt Gen I HOOPER CB 1.6.15 1.6.20 (Colonel Commandant) (Ivan) 42 Royal Corps of Signals Brig (Retd) T J P WATTS OBE 1.7.17 1.7.22 (Colonel Commandant) (Tim) 43 Royal Corps of Signals Maj Gen J J COLE OBE 23.3.18 23.3.23 (Colonel Commandant) (Jon) 44 Royal Corps of Signals Maj Gen S J POTTER QVRM TD VR 15.10.18 15.10.23 (Colonel Commandant) (Army Reserve) (Stephen) 45 Royal Corps of Signals Maj Gen S P M NESMITH 1.8.19 1.8.24 (Colonel Commandant) (Sharon) 46 Royal Corps of Signals Appointment Vacant (Colonel