Richard Cripwell

His Excellency Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell CB, CBE, CStJ
Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell
Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 February 2022
Premier	Lyndon Trott Peter Ferbrache
Preceded by	Sir Ian Corder
Personal details
Born	1962 (age 61–62) Newry, Northern Ireland
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1982–2022
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Royal Engineers
Commands	British Forces Cyprus Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force in Kosovo 26 Engineer Regiment
Battles/wars	The Troubles Iraqi no-fly zones conflict Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Commander of the Order of St John Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) Bronze Star Medal (United States)

Lieutenant General Richard John Cripwell, CB, CBE, CStJ (born 1962) is a former senior British Army officer. He serves as the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey since 2022.

Early life and education

Born in 1962 in Newry, Northern Ireland,^[1] Cripwell was educated in Dublin, Ireland, and at Welbeck College.^[2]

Military career

Cripwell was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1982.^[2] He was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in recognition of "distinguished services... in support of Air Operations over Iraq" in 1998,^[3] became commanding officer of 26 Engineer Regiment, and was then appointed commander of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force in Kosovo.^[2] He went on to be Assistant Chief of Staff at Permanent Joint Headquarters in January 2010, Director Strategic Transition and Assessments Group at the Headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force in February 2012 and Commander British Forces Cyprus and Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas in January 2013.^[4] After that he became Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. in March 2015.^[5] Cripwell was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2017 New Year Honours,^[6] and in October he became the Deputy Commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission.^[7] Cripwell assumed the appointment of Deputy Commander NATO Allied Land Command on 22 February 2019.^[8]

On 8 September 2021, it was announced that Cripwell had been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey.^[9] He was sworn in on 15 February 2022,^[10] and retired from the British Army on 29 April.^[11]

He served as Colonel commandant of the Royal Engineers until 1 May 2024.^[12]

References

1. "Cripwell, Lt Gen. Richard John, (Born 1962), Deputy Commander, Resolute Support, Afghanistan, since 2017", Who's Who, 2017, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U262037, ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4
2. "Brigadier Richard Cripwell". Welbeck College. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
3. "No. 55303". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1998. p. 12076.
4. "Forces TV Meets Outgoing Head of BFC". Forces TV. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
5. "Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2015.
6. "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N2.
7. "Cripwell assumes responsibility as deputy commander; Castellano bids farewell". 24 October 2017.
8. "LANDCOM transitions Deputy Commanders". 22 February 2019.
9. Pouteaux, Juliet (8 September 2021). "New Lt-Governor announced". Guernsey Press. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
10. "Guernsey's Lieutenant-Governor: Richard Cripwell to be sworn in". BBC News. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
11. "No. 63685". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 May 2022. p. 8327.
12. "No. 64387". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 May 2024. p. 8846.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Graham Stacey	Commander British Forces Cyprus 2013–2015	Succeeded by Sir Michael Wigston
Preceded by Buster Howes	Head of the British Defence Staff – US and Defence Attaché 2015–2017	Succeeded by Gavin Parker
Government offices
Preceded by Sir Ian Corder	Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey 2022–present	Incumbent