Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir Tyrone Richard Urch, (born 12 June 1965) is a former senior

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 who served as General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command and later Commander, Home Command.

Early life and education

Urch was born on 12 June 1965. He was educated at Lord Weymouth's School,

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

, and Welbeck College. He studied at Cranfield University (BEng) and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(MA).

Military career

Urch was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

on 4 June 1984. In 2001, as officer commanding 20 Field Squadron, he led the construction of two schools, a new hangar at Price Barracks and a jungle research station in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. He became Commanding Officer of 22 Engineer Regiment in 2004, and was deployed to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

later that year. He went on to be Commander of 1st Mechanised Brigade in December 2008, Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations at the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headqua ...

in Northwood in December 2010, and Chief of Staff for Land Forces in October 2012. After that he became General Officer Commanding Force Troops Command in February 2015; he was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

and became Commander Home Command in June 2018. He retired in June 2021. He was a Colonel Commandant in the Royal Engineers until October 2023, and Chief Royal Engineer from 14 September 2018 until 1 January 2024. Urch was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours, and

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Urch, Tyrone 1965 births Alumni of Cranfield University Alumni of King's College London British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the Iraq War Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people People educated at Lord Weymouth's Grammar School Royal Engineers officers People educated at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College