Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Gavin Henderson Paton (born March 1979) is a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. From 2018 to 2021, he served as the

Army Sergeant Major The Army Sergeant Major is the most senior member of the other ranks of the British Army. Although all appointment holders have been former warrant officers who were commissioned as captains before their appointment, the Army Sergeant Major ...

, the most senior warrant officer and member of the other ranks in the British Army.

Personal life

Paton was born in March 1979 in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. He is married to Jessica Paton, and together they have one son.

Military career

Paton served as a warrant officer with 3rd Battalion,

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the ...

. He was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 23 July 2017, and appointed as Field Army Sergeant Major in 2018. He was appointed

in November 2018, thereby becoming the most senior member of the other ranks of the British Army. Paton was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Gavin 1979 births Army Sergeant Majors British Army personnel of the Iraq War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people The Rifles officers The Rifles soldiers Military personnel from Cornwall