General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Charles Roland Vincent Walker (born 14 May 1970) 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 has served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, since 15 June 2024. Walker previously served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) from April 2021 until June 2024.

Early life and education

Walker was born on 14 May 1970 in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya, to Patrick Walker and Daphne Walker (née Armour). His mother later married Frederick Conyngham, 7th Marquess Conyngham, in 1980. He was educated at the Dragon School, a private preparatory school in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and then at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, an all-boys independent

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 ...

in London. Sponsored by the

as a university cadetship officer, he studied at the Royal Agricultural College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree. He later studied at Cranfield University, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree.

Military career

Walker was commissioned into the Guards Division of the

as a second lieutenant (on probation) on 9 September 1990 as part of his undergraduate cadetship. In September 1993, his commission was confirmed and he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

back-dated to 11 August 1992. He began active service in the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

in 1993, and saw operational tours in Northern Ireland and Iraq. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 11 August 1995. In 1997, he joined 22 Special Air Service Regiment. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 30 September 2000. He attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course from 2001 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2007, he undertook multiple operational tours in Iraq. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 2008. Following his time with Special Forces, Walker transferred from the Irish Guards to the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 11 November 2008. He served as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards from 2008 to 2010. With the Grenadiers, he served a tour in Afghanistan, during which the Ridgeback PPV in which he was travelling was blown up by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED): all six soldiers inside escaped uninjured, but the vehicle was thrown into the air, had its wheels blown off and its armour shredded. Walker was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) in September 2010 in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 October 2009 to 31 March 2010. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 30 June 2012. Walker commanded the

12th Armoured Infantry Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

from 2013 to 2015, and was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

on 30 June 2014. He has since held staff appointments at Army Headquarters and the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. He was promoted to major general on 8 March 2018, and appointed Director Special Forces. He was promoted to

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 ...

and became Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) on 16 April 2021. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 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 ...

, thereby granted the title

sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Walker served as

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps from 1 March 2017 to 1 June 2022, and Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Grenadier Guards from 18 June 2017 to 18 June 2022; both ceremonial appointments. He was Honorary Colonel of the Cambridge University Officers' Training Corps until June 2024. He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

on 30 May 2024.

Chief of the General Staff

It was announced in December 2023 that Walker had been selected to be the next Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and would take up the post in June 2024. He took up the post on 16 June 2024. On the same day, he was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and appointed

Aide-de-camp general Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post- ...

to the King. On 23 July 2024, Walker warned of the threat posed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. He said the UK must be prepared for a possible

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

with Russia by 2027. Walker said there were "no winners" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding that "it is an utter devastation for both sides and lost generations." He said that with the current way of fighting, it would take Russia five years to control the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia that Russia claims as its own, and it would cost Russia more than 1.5 million

casualties A casualty (), as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, missing, capture or desertion. In c ...

. He said: "It doesn’t matter how it ends. I think Russia will emerge from it probably weaker objectively – or absolutely – but still very, very dangerous and wanting some form of retribution for what we have done to help Ukraine."

Personal life

In 1998, Walker married Kate White-Thomson. They have three daughters and live in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

Honours and awards

Source:

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen EII Platinum Jubilee Medal ribbon

References

External links

The Grenadier Guards under General Walker's command preparing for Trooping the Colour
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Roland 1970 births Living people British Army generals People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Harrow School Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University Irish Guards officers Grenadier Guards officers Chiefs of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Alumni of Cranfield University Special Air Service officers British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) British Army personnel of the Iraq War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)