The Lord Inge | |
|---|---|
 Inge in 2007 | |
| Born | (1935-08-05)5 August 1935 Croydon, Surrey, England |
| Died | 20 July 2022(2022-07-20) (aged 86) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1956–1997 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Service number | 448984 |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Other work | Deputy Lieutenant ofNorth Yorkshire (1994–2022) |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Life peerage 21 July 1997 – 25 April 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Crossbencher |
Field MarshalPeter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge (5 August 1935 – 20 July 2022) was a seniorBritish Army officer. He was theChief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1992 to 1994 and then served asChief of the Defence Staff before retiring in 1997. Early in his military career he saw action during theMalayan Emergency andOperation Banner in Northern Ireland, and later in his career he provided advice to theBritish Government during theBosnian War.
The son of Raymond Albert Inge and Grace Maud Caroline Inge (née Du Rose), Inge was born inCroydon on 5 August 1935.[1][2] He was educated first atSummer Fields School,Oxford and then atWrekin College,Shropshire. He was conscripted into the army forNational Service in September 1953 and was sent for officer cadet training atEaton Hall, Cheshire before attending theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst.[3]
Inge was commissioned into theGreen Howards from Sandhurst on 27 July 1956.[4] He was promoted tolieutenant on 27 July 1958,[5] served with the 1st Battalion the Green Howards in Hong Kong and Germany, and was deployed on operational service toMalaya during theMalayan Emergency.[6] Appointedaide-de-camp to theGeneral Officer Commanding4th Division in 1960,[1] he was promoted tocaptain on 27 July 1962,[7] and made adjutant of the 1st Battalion the Green Howards in 1963.[1]
After working in theMinistry of Defence, and being promoted tomajor on 31 December 1967,[8] Inge returned to the 1st Battalion as a company commander in 1969 and was deployed toNorthern Ireland.[9] He served as brigade major with the11th Armoured Brigade from August 1971, before being promoted tolieutenant colonel on 31 December 1972,[10] and becoming an instructor at theStaff College, Camberley in 1973.[1] He was appointedcommanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Green Howards in 1974.[1] Promoted tocolonel on 31 December 1976,[11] he commanded the Staff College's Junior Division from 1977 and, following his promotion tobrigadier on 31 December 1979,[12] he commanded Task Force C of theBritish Army of the Rhine from 1980.[1] From 1982 he was Chief of Staff ofI (British) Corps.[1] He returned to Britain as General Officer CommandingNorth East District and Commander2nd Infantry Division, based in York, from 12 January 1984[13] with the substantive rank ofmajor general from 16 April.[14] In 1986, he was appointed Director General, Logistics Policy (Army) at theMinistry of Defence.[9]
Inge was promoted tolieutenant general and became General Officer CommandingI (British) Corps on 8 August 1987.[15] He was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the1988 New Year Honours.[16] He relinquished the corps command on 2 October 1989 and,[17] on 27 November, he became the commander of NATO's Northern Army Group and Commander-in-Chief ofBritish Army of the Rhine in Germany with the local rank ofgeneral;[18] his rank was made substantive on 3 January 1990.[19]
Having becomeaide-de-camp general tothe Queen on 21 February 1991 and promoted toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the1992 New Year Honours,[20][21] Inge was appointedChief of the General Staff in February 1992 andChief of the Defence Staff with the rank offield marshal on 15 March 1994.[22] Inge was the last active officer to be promoted to the rank.[23] He served in this post, in which he provided military advice to the British government on the conduct of theBosnian War, until he retired in 1997.[1] He was appointed Colonel of the Green Howards in 1982,[24]Colonel Commandant of theRoyal Military Police in 1987, and Colonel Commandant of theArmy Physical Training Corps in 1988.[1]
Inge was appointedDeputy Lieutenant ofNorth Yorkshire (DL) in 1994.[25]
After stepping down as Chief of the Defence Staff, he was created alife peer asBaron Inge, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire, in 1997.[26] Inge was appointed aKnight Companion of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 2001,[27] and retired from theLords on 25 April 2016,[28] where he had been an opponent of furtherEU integration.[29]
In 2004 Inge was made aPrivy Counsellor and appointed to serve as a member of theButler Inquiry team, which examined the use of intelligence during theIraq War.[30] Chaired byRobin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, the inquiry determined that the intelligence used to declare Iraq's possession of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was flawed.[30] He was critical of the British handling of conflicts in Iraq andAfghanistan, reportedly saying in 2006 that he "feared we had lost the ability to think strategically".[3]
In retirement Inge became a non-executive director ofRacal Electronics plc, commissioner of theRoyal Hospital Chelsea, trustee of theHistoric Royal Palaces, and president of theArmy Benevolent Fund.[1] He was a member of the advisory board ofAegis Defence Services,[31] aprivate military company based in London having previously, until February 2010, been the chairman of the board of directors.[32]
Inge enjoyed watching cricket, walking, reading and music. He was a member of theMarylebone Cricket Club,Boodle's and several othergentlemen's clubs.[3]
In 1960 Inge married Letitia Thornton-Berry; they had two daughters, Antonia and Verity.[1] Lady Inge died in 2020.[33] Inge died on 20 July 2022, at the age of 86.[34][35][3]
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | General Officer CommandingNorth East District and Commander2nd Infantry Division 1984–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Officer Commanding1st (British) Corps 1987–1989 | |
| Commander-in-ChiefBritish Army of the Rhine 1989–1992 | ||
| Preceded by | Chief of the General Staff 1992–1994 | |
| Preceded by | Chief of the Defence Staff 1994–1997 | |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Constable of the Tower of London 1996–2001 | Succeeded by |
