General the Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL

Chief of the General Staff: 2006-2009

Richard Dannatt was a soldier for forty years and was decorated with the Military Cross for gallantry in 1973. As a young officer he also served with the UN in Cyprus and in Germany before commanding 1st Battalion The Green Howards from 1989 to 1991. Later he was Commander British Forces in Bosnia and then in Kosovo before becoming Commander in Chief Land Forces and then Chief of the General Staff – the Army’s professional head, which included some of the Army’s fiercest fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During his service career General Sir Richard Dannatt was a passionate advocate for the needs of individual soldiers and their families and was closely involved in many initiatives to raise standards of equipment, welfare and medical capability available. He is closely involved with several Service Charities. He retired from the Army in August 2009 and was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to the ceremonial post of Constable of the Tower of London. As such he is also a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Armouries. In late 2009 to early 2010 he was an informal adviser to David Cameron on Defence issues and in January 2011 became a crossbench member of The House of Lords.

General the Lord Dannatt is a frequent commentator on current defence and security issues through his regular columns in The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph and on television and radio. He published his autobiography: “Leading from the Front” in September 2010. He is a Senior Adviser to a number of companies in the wider security and defence sectors, and chairs the Advisory Board of the Durham Global Security Institute which focuses on the prevention of conflict and defence, development and diplomacy.

We are honoured to welcome General The Lord Dannatt to The Forgotten Heroes.