Allegiance United Kingdom Role Baron Inge Years of service 1956–1997 | Service number 448984 Rank Field marshal Name Peter Baron | |
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Born 5 August 1935 (age 88) ( 1935-08-05 ) Commands held Chief of the Defence StaffChief of the General StaffBritish Army of the Rhine2nd Infantry Division1st Battalion Green Howards Battles/wars Malayan EmergencyOperation BannerBosnian War Awards Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath, Mentioned in dispatches Battles and wars | ||
Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge, (born 5 August 1935) was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1992 to 1994. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff before retiring in 1997. Early in his military career he saw action during the Malayan Emergency and in Northern Ireland and later in his career he provided advice to the British Government during the Bosnian War.
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Army career
The son of Raymond Albert Inge and Grace Maud Caroline Inge (née Du Rose), Inge was born in Croydon and was educated at Wrekin College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, He was commissioned into the Green Howards from Sandhurst on 27 July 1956. He was promoted to lieutenant on 27 July 1958, and served with the 1st Battalion in Hong Kong and Germany and was deployed on operational service to Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. Appointed aide-de-camp to the general officer commanding 4th Division in 1960, he was promoted to captain on 27 July 1962 and made adjutant of 1st Battalion the Green Howards in 1963.
After working in the Ministry of Defence, and being promoted to major on 31 December 1967, he returned to the battalion as a company commander in 1969 and was deployed to Northern Ireland. He served as brigade major with the 11th Armoured Brigade from August 1971, before being promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 31 December 1972 and becoming an Instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1973. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion the Green Howards in 1974. Promoted to colonel on 31 December 1976, he commanded the Staff College’s Junior Division from 1977 and, following his promotion to brigadier on 31 December 1979, he commanded Task Force C of the British Army of the Rhine from 1980. From 1982 he was Chief of Staff of I (British) Corps. He returned to Britain as General Officer Commanding North Eastern District and Commander 2nd Infantry Division, based in York from 12 January 1984 with the substantive rank of major-general from 16 April 1984. In 1986, he was appointed Director General, Logistics Policy (Army) at the Ministry of Defence.
He was promoted to lieutenant general and became General Officer Commanding I (British) Corps on 8 August 1987 and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours 1988. He relinquished this command on 2 October 1989. On 27 November 1989 he became the commander of NATO’s Northern Army Group and commander-in-chief of British Army of the Rhine in Germany with the local rank of general; his rank was made substantive on 3 January 1990.
Having become ADC to the Queen on 21 February 1991 and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1992, he was made Chief of the General Staff in February 1992 and Chief of the Defence Staff with the rank of field marshal on 15 March 1994. He served in this post, in which he provided military advice to the British Government on the conduct of the Bosnian War, until he retired in 1997. He was appointed Colonel of the Green Howards in 1982, Colonel Commandant of the Royal Military Police in 1987 and Colonel Commandant of the Army Physical Training Corps in 1988.
Later career
After stepping down as Chief of the Defence Staff, he was created a life peer as Baron Inge, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire. He retired from the Lords on 25 April 2016. He also became a Knight of the Garter on 23 April 2001.
In 2004 he was made a Privy Councillor and appointed to serve as a member of the Butler Inquiry team, which examined the use of intelligence during the Iraq War. Chaired by Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, the inquiry determined that the intelligence used to declare Iraq's possession of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was flawed.
In retirement he became a non-executive director of Racal Electronics plc, Commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Trustee of the Historic Royal Palaces and President of the Army Benevolent Fund. He is a member of the advisory board of Aegis Defence Services, a private military company based in London having previously, until February 2010, been the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Family
In 1960 he married Letitia Thornton-Berry; they have two daughters.