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 David Robert Bill, (born 17 November 1954) is a 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 Commandant of the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

Early life and education

Bill was born on 17 November 1954 to Robert Bill, DSO, RN and Wendy Jean Bill (née Booth). He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Welbeck College Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (stylised as Welbeck – The Defence Sixth Form College), formerly named and often referred to as simply Welbeck College, was an independent, selective sixth form college in Leicestershire, England. While run ...

Military career

Bill 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 ...

in 1973. After commanding 33 Independent Field Squadron in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, he became commanding officer of 39 Engineer Regiment at

Waterbeach Waterbeach is a village north of Cambridge on the edge of The Fens, in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a "new town" in 2018. History Early periods Waterbeach is on the Car Dyke, a Roman waterway ...

. He was posted to UK Land Forces in 1997 first as Commander, Royal Engineers and then as Brigadier, General Staff. Promoted to major general in 2002, Bill became General Officer Commanding UK Support Command (Germany) at

Rheindahlen Rheindahlen (called ''Dalen'' from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period around 1700, and ''Dahlen'' until 1878) is a town in the western and largest borough of the city of Mönchengladbach in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

. He went on to be Deputy Commander NATO Rapid Deployable Corps (Italy) in September 2006 and UK Military Representative to NATO in October 2008. He became Commandant of the

in 2012.

Family

Bill is married to Gabrielle; they have two sons and a daughter.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bill, David 1954 births Living people British Army lieutenant generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Charterhouse School Royal Engineers officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) People educated at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College