Major General Charles Gerard Courtenay Vyvyan, (born 29 September 1944) is a retired

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. He served as Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence Attaché in Washington, D.C. (1997–2000), and Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod (2006–2018).

Early life and education

Vyvyan was born on 29 September 1944 to Elizabeth and John Vyvyan. His father was a diplomat, British Army veteran, and history fellow at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, an all-boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Winchester, Hampshire Winchester (, ) is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of ...

. He studied modern history at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, graduating with

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1966.

Military career

Vyvyan was commissioned into the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

in 1967.''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2010'', A & C Black, 2010, After a two-year secondment to the Sultan of Oman's Land Forces in the mid-1970s, he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets in 1984, commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade in 1988 and Deputy Chief of Staff at Headquarters UK Land Forces in 1994. He went on to be Head of the British Defence Staff and Defence

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1997 before retiring in 2000.

Later life

Vyvyan was a visiting fellow at the Eisenhower Institute in Washington, D.C., from 2002 to 2006. He was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod in 2006: he stepped down in 2018.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vyvyan, Charles 1944 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British Army major generals British military attachés Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Gentlemen Ushers Living people People educated at Winchester College