Richard Swinburn

Sir Richard Swinburn
Born(1937-10-30)30 October 1937
Died11 October 2017(2017-10-11) (aged 79)
Dummer, Hampshire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1957–1995
RankLieutenant General
CommandsSouth East District
1st Armoured Division
7th Armoured Brigade
17th/21st Lancers
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Spouse(s)
Jane Elise Brodie
(m. 1964; died 2001)

Susan Ferguson
(m. 2012)

Lieutenant General Sir Richard Hull Swinburn, KCB (30 October 1937 – 11 October 2017)[1] was a senior British Army officer who served as Commander of the UK Field Army from 1994 to 1995.

Military career

Educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Swinburn was commissioned into the 17th/21st Lancers in 1957.[2] He became commanding officer of the 17th/21st Lancers in 1979 and commander of the 7th Armoured Brigade in 1983.[3] He went on to be General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1st Armoured Division in 1987 and Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 1989.[3] He was made GOC South East District in 1990 (which was retitled Southern District in 1992).[3] He was then made Commander UK Field Army in 1994,[3] and retired in 1995.[4]

Swinburn was given the colonelcy of the Queen's Royal Lancers from 1995 to 2001.[5]

Family

Swinburn was the son of Major General Henry Robinson Swinburn (1897–1981) and Naomi Hull (1903–1992). His maternal grandfather was Major General Sir Charles Hull and his uncle was Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull. In 1964 he married Jane Elise Brodie, who died in 2001.[3] In September 2012, it was announced that he was engaged to Susan Ferguson (née Deptford), the widow of Major Ronald Ferguson and the stepmother of Sarah, Duchess of York.[6] They married in December 2012. Prince Andrew, Sarah, Duchess of York, and their two daughters attended Sir Richard and Lady Swinburn's wedding celebrations.[7]

References

  1. ^ Swinburn
  2. ^ "No. 41191". The London Gazette. 1 October 1957. p. 5759.
  3. ^ a b c d e Debrett's People of Today 1994
  4. ^ Whitaker's Almanack 1996
  5. ^ "The Queen's Royal Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 26 December 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Duchess of York's delight as stepmother finds love with Army hero". The Telegraph. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Beatrice and Eugenie share Duchess of York's joy as stepmother remarries". Hello. 21 December 2012.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division
1987–1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant Chief of the General Staff
1989–1990
Preceded by General Officer Commanding South East District
1990–1994
Succeeded by
Sir Anthony Denison-Smith
(AS GOC Southern District)
Preceded by Commander UK Field Army
1994–1995
Succeeded by