Birth name Peter Andrew Eagles Years of service 1990 to present Rank Brigadier Service/branch British Army | Allegiance United Kingdom Spouse(s) Gail Seager (m. 1992) Service number 539182 | |
Born 6 July 1959 (age 57) ( 1959-07-06 ) Unit Royal Army Chaplains' Department | ||
Peter Andrew Eagles, QHC (born 6 July 1959) is a British Church of England priest and chaplain of the British Army. He has served as Archdeacon for the Army since 2011 and the Deputy Chaplain-General of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department since 2014.
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Early life and education
Eagles was born on 6 July 1959. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, an all-boys independent school in Guildford, Surrey. He studied German and Russian at King's College, London, and he graduated in 1982 with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and the Associateship of King's College (AKC).
Between 1982 and 1986, Eagles was an assistant master at Tonbridge School, an independent school in Tonbridge, Kent, and also worked as a freelance translator. In 1986, he entered St Stephen's House, Oxford, an Anglo-Catholic theological college, to train for holy orders and study theology. He graduated with a further BA in 1988.
Ordained ministry
Eagles was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1989 and as a priest in 1990. From 1989 to 1992, he served his curacy at St Martin's Church, Ruislip, an Anglo-Catholic church in the Diocese of London.
Military service
On 27 January 1990, Eagles was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplains' Department of the British Army as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent in rank to captain). He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (equivalent in rank to major) on 27 January 1998, and to Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class on 5 September 2005 (equivalent in rank to lieutenant colonel). From 2007 to 2008, he was Chaplain of the Royal Military Chapel (Guards Chapel) at Wellington Barracks in London.
On 28 January 2008, Eagles was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 1st Class (equivalent in rank to colonel) and appointed an Assistant Chaplain General. On 28 July 2011, he was collated and licensed as the Archdeacon for the Army, the most senior Anglican chaplain in the British Army, during a service at Lambeth Palace Chapel; as such he is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England. From 2013 to 2014, he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies to prepare for further promotion. On 14 July 2014, he was appointed the Deputy Chaplain General (equivalent in rank to brigadier), thereby becoming the second most senior chaplain in the British Army.
Personal life
On 1992, Eagles married Gail Seager. Together they have one son.
Honours
On 17 October 2013, Eagles was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen (QHC). On 15 October 2015, he was installed as an honorary canon of Salisbury Cathedral.