| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | VCDS |
| Member of | Defence Council Chiefs of Staff Committee |
| Reports to | Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer | Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by theKing-in-Council |
| Precursor | Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Formation | February 1964 |
| First holder | Air Chief MarshalSir Alfred Earle |
| Website | Official website |
Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS) is the title of the deputy to theChief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of theBritish Armed Forces.[1] It is the second-most senior position within the British Armed Forces. The position was titledDeputy Chief of the Defence Staff before 1964.[2]
The Vice Chief of the Defence Staff deputises for the Chief of the Defence Staff and has responsibility for running the armed forces aspects of defence business, principally through the central staff.VCDS is responsible for:[3]
These are:[2]
| No. | Picture | Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Earle, AlfredAir Chief Marshal Sir Alfred EarleGBE, CB (1907–1990) | February 1964 | May 1966 |  Royal Air Force |
| 2 |  | Cole, GeorgeLieutenant General Sir George ColeKCB, CBE (1911–1973) | May 1966 | November 1967 |  British Army |
| 3 | | Hogg, IanVice Admiral Sir Ian HoggKCB, DSC &Bar (1911–2003) | November 1967 | March 1970 |  Royal Navy |
| 4 | | Barraclough, JohnAir Marshal Sir John BarracloughKCB, CBE, DFC, AFC (1918–2008) | March 1970 | February 1972 | Royal Air Force |
| 5 | | Gibbon, JohnLieutenant General Sir John GibbonGCB, OBE (1917–1997) | February 1972 | January 1974 | British Army |
| 6 | | Le Cheminant, PeterAir Marshal Sir Peter Le CheminantKCB, DFC &Bar (1920–2018) | January 1974 | January 1976 | Royal Air Force |
| 7 | | Leach, HenryVice Admiral Sir Henry LeachKCB (1923–2011) | January 1976 | March 1977 | Royal Navy |
| 8 | | Morton, AnthonyVice Admiral Sir Anthony MortonKCB (1923–2006) | March 1977 | April 1978 | Royal Navy |
| 9 | .jpg) | Bramall, EdwinGeneral Sir Edwin BramallKCB, OBE, MC (1923–2019) | April 1978 | May 1979 | British Army |
| 10 | | Howard-Dobson, PatrickGeneral Sir Patrick Howard-DobsonGCB (1921–2009) | May 1979 | June 1981 | British Army |
| 11 | | Evans, DavidAir Chief Marshal Sir David EvansGCB, CBE (1924–2020) | June 1981 | June 1983 | Royal Air Force |
| 12 | | Herbert, PeterAdmiral Sir Peter HerbertKCB, OBE (1929–2019) | June 1983 | January 1985 | Royal Navy |
| 13 | .jpg) | Harding, PeterAir Chief Marshal Sir Peter HardingKCB (1933–2021) | January 1985 | August 1985 | Royal Air Force |
| 14 | | Hine, PatrickAir Chief Marshal Sir Patrick HineKCB (born 1932) | August 1985 | October 1987 | Royal Air Force |
| 15 | | Vincent, RichardGeneral Sir Richard VincentKCB, DSO (1931–2018) | October 1987 | March 1991 | British Army |
| 16 | | Bathurst, BenjaminAdmiral Sir Benjamin BathurstGCB (1936–2025) | March 1991 | January 1993 | Royal Navy |
| 17 | .jpg) | Slater, JohnAdmiral Sir John SlaterGCB, LVO (born 1938) | January 1993 | April 1995 | Royal Navy |
| 18 | | Willis, JohnAir Chief Marshal Sir John WillisGBE, KCB (1937–2008) | April 1995 | October 1997 | Royal Air Force |
| 19 | .jpg) | Abbott, PeterAdmiral Sir Peter AbbottGBE, KCB (1942–2015) | October 1997 | May 2001 | Royal Navy |
| 20 | .jpg) | Bagnall, AnthonyAir Chief Marshal Sir Anthony BagnallGBE, KCB (born 1945) | May 2001 | July 2005 | Royal Air Force |
| 21 | .jpg) | Granville-Chapman, TimothyGeneral Sir Timothy Granville-ChapmanGBE, KCB (born 1947) | July 2005 | May 2009 | British Army |
| 22 | .jpg) | Houghton, NicholasGeneral Sir Nicholas HoughtonGCB, CBE (born 1954) | May 2009 | May 2013 | British Army |
| 23 | .jpg) | Peach, StuartAir Chief Marshal Sir Stuart PeachGBE, KCB (born 1956) | May 2013 | May 2016 | Royal Air Force |
| 24 |  | Messenger, GordonGeneral Sir Gordon MessengerKCB, DSO &Bar, OBE (born 1962) | May 2016 | May 2019 |  Royal Marines |
| 25 |  | Fraser, TimAdmiral Sir Timothy FraserKCB | May 2019 | September 2022 | Royal Navy |
| 26 |  | Jenkins, GwynGeneral Gwyn JenkinsCB, OBE | August 2022[4] | June 2024 | Royal Marines |
| 27 | .jpg) | Nesmith, SharonGeneral Dame Sharon NesmithDCB, ADC | June 2024[5] | British Army |
Text was copied from this source, which is available under theOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.Headquarters:Main Building, Whitehall | |||||||
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