Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Richard Matthew McQueen Sykes

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

(born 1955) is a retired senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer. From 2010 to 2014 he was group chief executive of

Elizabeth Finn Care Elizabeth Finn Care, established by Elizabeth Anne Finn in 1897 as the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association, is a British charity providing help and assistance to relieve the problems of old age, illness, social isolation and disability. In May 2 ...

, a large charity providing relief from poverty in the UK. A former

officer, his military career culminated as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel) in the UK

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. At the same he served as the Defence Services Secretary from 2007 to 2010 in the Royal Household. He is currently chief executive of the Sir Simon Milton Foundation.

Military career

Sykes was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1976. He became Commanding Officer of

3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery in the British Army. They are currently based at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland, England. The regiment was constituted in 1939 out of existing batteries. Two of ...

in 1994. He went on to be Strategic Policy Chief at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...

in 1997, Chief Co-ordinator of Joint Firepower for the

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide. History The ARRC was created on 1 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former I (British ...

in 2000 and Director of Corporate Communications for the Army at the

in 2002. After that he became Director

in 2005 and then Defence Services Secretary in 2007 as well as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel) from 2009 before retiring from the Army in 2010. He served on operations in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

. During his time as Defence Services Secretary, he was responsible for the introduction of the Elizabeth Cross awarded to families of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, ...

killed in action or as a result of a terrorist attack since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Post military career

After leaving the Army, from 2010 to 2014 he was group chief executive of

, a British charity helping people in the UK struggling with financial hardship. During the same period he was a non-executive director of Elizabeth Finn Homes Limited, a company owned by the charity, responsible for the running of 9 care homes and 11 almshouses. He is now chief executive of the Sir Simon Milton Foundation, a charity based in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

helping disadvantaged younger people in training and education and supporting older people, especially those who are lonely and socially isolated. He holds a number of other executive, non-executive, advisory, consultant and voluntary posts, including Gentleman Usher to the King and he was Honorary Regimental Colonel of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. In this capacity he accompanied

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's coffin to

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

during her funeral. In 2010 he was made a Freeman of the City of London.

References

British Army major generals Royal Artillery officers Living people British charity and campaign group workers NATO military personnel Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order 1955 births {{UK-army-bio-stub