Major General Patrick Anthony John Cordingley, (born 6 October 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 who commanded the 2nd Division from 1995 to 1996.

Early life and education

Cordingley was born on 6 October 1944. He was educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

, an all-boys public school (i.e.

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

). His father was Major-General John Cordingley, the son of Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Cordingley.

Military career

Cordingley trained at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

(Intake 35), where he was Senior Under-Officer of Waterloo Company. He was commissioned into

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

in June 1965. He was given command of the 7th Armoured Brigade (Desert Rats) in 1988 and, in 1991, led the brigade during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. He became

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

Eastern District in 1992, General Officer Commanding 2nd Division in 1995 and Senior British Loan Services Officer to

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

in 1996, before he retired in 2000.

Later life

In 1996 Cordingley published a book detailing his leading the troops into

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 ...

titled ''In The Eye of the Storm: Commanding 7th Armoured Brigade in the Gulf War'', which rose to the top of the non-fictional bestseller lists. He was opposed to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and has frequently spoken out against it citing his concern that many thousands of civilians would die unnecessarily. Cordingley has also spoken out against Britain renewing its

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

nuclear deterrent. Cordingley was appointed an

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 ...

in the

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for services to the

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordingley, Patrick 1944 births Living people British Army major generals Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of the Gulf War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers People educated at Sherborne School Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Officers of the Order of the British Empire