Major General Paul Anthony Edward Nanson, (born 10 May 1965) 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 served as Commander

7th Armoured Brigade Seventh is the ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 7, seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"T ...

, Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and

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 ...

Recruiting and Initial Training Command.

Early life and education

Nanson was born in

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. He was educated at

Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby is a 7–18 boys Private school, private day school, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside. The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: ''Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt'' (Sma ...

and 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 ...

Military career

Nanson was commissioned into the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

in January 1986. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 2006 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 ...

. He went on to be chief of staff for 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division in Germany in 2008, commander of the

in March 2011 and Director (Army) at the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British Armed Forces academic establishment that provides training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and offic ...

in April 2014. He was appointed a

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 ...

on 26 February 2015 for distinguished services in Afghanistan. Paul Nanson Sandhurst

Nanson became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in September 2015. He was given the additional appointment of General Officer Commanding Recruiting and Initial Training Command in 2018, a post in which he continued after finishing his 5-year term at the Royal Military academy, Sandhurst as commandant. Nanson was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 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 ...

, and retired from the British Army on 4 November that year.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanson, Paul 1966 births Living people People from Ormskirk Royal Regiment of Fusiliers officers Military personnel of the Bosnian War British Army personnel of the Gulf War British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Military personnel from Lancashire People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Iraq War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Commandants of Sandhurst Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath