Peter Inge, Baron Inge

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The Rt Hon Lord Inge
5 August 1935 –
Field Marshal The Rt Hon Lord Inge KG, GCB, PC, DL
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1956 – 1997
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	1st Bn Green Howards North East District British Army of the Rhine
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Mention in Despatches

Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge KG, GCB, PC, DL (born 5 August 1935) was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1992 and 1994. On 15 March 1994 he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal and made Chief of the Defence Staff. Since retiring in 1997 he has been made a life peer and a Knight of the Garter. He has commanded, among other British Army regiments, the Green Howards.

He was a member of the Butler Inquiry team, chaired by Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, that determined that the intelligence used to declare Iraq's possession of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was flawed.^[1]

Contents 1 Army career 2 Later career 3 References 4 Further reading

[edit] Army career

Educated at Wrekin College, Peter Inge was commissioned into the Green Howards from Sandhurst in 1956.^[2] He served with the 1st Battalion in Hong Kong, Germany and Libya.^[2] After working in the Ministry of Defence, he returned to the Battalion as a company commander, serving in Northern Ireland.^[3] From 1971 to 1972 he was Brigade Major with the 11th Armoured Brigade, before being appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion the Green Howards.^[3] Between 1977 and 1979 he commanded the Staff College’s Junior Division, then Task Force C of the British Army of the Rhine.^[3] In 1983 he returned to Britain as General Officer Commanding North Eastern District, based in York, then was appointed Director General, Logistics Policy (Army) at the Ministry of Defence.^[3] In 1987 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, promoted to Lieutenant General and was appointed as General Officer Commanding I (British) Corps. ^[3] In 1989 he became the Commander of NATO’s Northern Army Group and Commander in Chief of British Army of the Rhine^[3]. For his services in the Rhine he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). On his return to the UK in 1992 he became Chief of the General Staff and in 1994 was promoted to Field Marshal and became Chief of the Defence Staff. He served in the post until 1997, when he was created a life peer as Baron Inge, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire.^[4]

[edit] Later career

He was appointed as one of the 24 Knights of the Garter in 2002. In 2004 he was made a Privy Councillor and appointed to serve on the Butler Committee, which examined the use of intelligence during the Iraq War.^[1]

He is president of the Pilgrims Society of Great Britain.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Biography at ICx Technology
• Heathcote, T.A. (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736-1997. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-696-5

Military offices
Preceded by Sir John Chapple	Chief of the General Staff 1992–1994	Succeeded by Sir Charles Guthrie
Preceded by Sir Peter Harding	Chief of the Defence Staff 1994–1997	Succeeded by Sir Charles Guthrie
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir John Stanier	Constable of the Tower of London 1996 – 2001	Succeeded by Sir Roger Wheeler

v • d • e Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff Sir William Nicholson • Sir John French • Sir Charles Douglas • Sir James Murray • Sir Archibald Murray • Sir William Robertson • Sir Henry Wilson • Lord Cavan • Sir George Milne • Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd • Sir Cyril Deverell • Viscount Gort • Sir Edmund Ironside • Sir John Dill • Sir Alan Brooke • Viscount Montgomery • Sir William Slim • Sir John Harding • Sir Gerald Templer • Sir Francis Festing • Sir Richard Hull Chiefs of the General Staff Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt