Peter Pearson (British Army officer)

Peter Pearson
Lieutenant General Peter Pearson
Born	1954
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1975–2010
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	501055
Commands held	3rd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles 19th Mechanized Brigade British Forces Cyprus Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Battles/wars	Bosnian War Kosovo War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Lieutenant General Peter Thomas Clayton Pearson CB, CBE (born 1954) is a former British Army officer who became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Early life

Pearson was born in 1954.^[1]

Military career

Pearson was commissioned on 8 November 1975 as a second lieutenant, having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.^[2] He transferred to the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles on 29 May 1976^[3] and joined them in Hong Kong.^[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 November 1977.^[5] He was attached to Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1977 and 1978, with whom he served in West Germany and Northern Ireland. He returned to the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles in 1979 and served as an Intelligence Officer during a tour of Brunei. He returned to England in 1980, as an instructor of the School of Infantry, Warminster.^[4]

He was promoted to captain on 8 May 1982,^[6] to major on 30 September 1986,^[7] and to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1991.^[8] He was appointed Commanding Officer of 10th Gurkha Rifles in May 1993 and, when the Gurkha rifle regiments were amalgamated, became Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles from July 1994 to December 1995.^[4] He was promoted to colonel on 31 December 1995, with seniority from 30 June 1995.^[9] He then attended the Higher Command and Staff Course at the Staff College, Camberley. He became Assistant Chief of Staff (Land) at Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood in April 1996.^[4] He was promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1997 with seniority from 30 June 1997^[10] and was appointed Commander of 19th Mechanized Brigade. In that capacity, he was deployed to Bosnia and then to Kosovo.^[4]

He went on to be Assistant Chief of Staff, Training in May 2000, Chief of Staff Field Army in September 2001 and, on promotion to Major General in July 2002, became Deputy Commander for Operations in Bosnia before becoming Commander of British Forces Cyprus and Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas in September 2003.^[11] His last appointments were as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006^[12] and Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples in 2007 before retiring in March 2010.^[11]

Later life

In retirement, Pearson became Executive Director of The British Schools Exploring Society from March 2010.^[11] He succeeded Lieutenant-General Sir Cedric Delves as Lieutenant of the Tower of London on 4 May 2010.^[13] In 2012 Pearson was made Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor.^[14]

Personal life

Pearson is married to Francesca. Together they have two sons and a daughter.^[4]

Honours and decorations

On 3 November 2000, Pearson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the former Yugoslavia and Albania during the period 1st October 1999 to 31st March 2000".^[15] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2010 New Year Honours.^[16][17]

He was appointed to the honorary position of Colonel of The Royal Gurkha Rifles on 1 July 1999, succeeding Lieutenant General Sir Peter Duffell.^[18]

References

1. "Peter Thomas Clayton Pearson CBE". Director Check. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
2. The London Gazette: no. 46769. pp. 16299–16230. 23 December 1975. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46958. p. 9592. 12 July 1976. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
4. "Major General P T C Pearson CBE, DCOMOPS". NATO.
5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47371. p. 14024. 7 November 1977. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48990. p. 6922. 24 May 1982. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50677. pp. 12945–12947. 6 October 1986. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 52615. p. 11597. 29 July 1991. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 54265. p. 61. 29 December 1995. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 55006. p. 101. 5 January 1998. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
11. "Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Peter Pearson CB CBE". The British Forces Foundation.
12. Biography at Adventure Traveller
13. The London Gazette: no. 59411. p. 8081. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
14. "Community News" (PDF). The Companion. p. 17. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
15. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56017. p. 12362. 3 November 2000. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
16. New Year Honours 2010
17. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59282. p. 2. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
18. The London Gazette: no. 55557. p. 7813. 20 July 1999. Retrieved 2012-07-21.