Lt General Sir Ben Bathurst KCVO

Lt General Sir Ben Bathurst KCVO

Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst is a graduate of the University of Bristol (BSc(Hons)) and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, commissioning into the Welsh Guards in 1987.

He served as a Mechanised Infantry Platoon Commander in Germany, then Operations Officer in Belize before returning to Germany as Aide-de-Camp to Commander 1st (British) Corps. He has served in 3 tours in Northern Ireland with the Ulster Defence Regiment in Belfast and with 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, commanding Number Three Company twice, in Ballykelly and in South Armagh. He also served with the United Nations in Bosnia in 1995.

He has done 3 staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence in London. As a Major, he re-defined the UK’s land based anti-armour requirements. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he was responsible for UK policy on NATO and assisted strategic planning for Iraq. As a Colonel in 2006-2008, he ran Army Public Relations. As a Brigadier, he commanded the Army’s Initial Training Group in 2010 before moving to the Army Headquarters as Director Training (Army) from 2011-2014, responsible for re-defining the Army’s individual and collective training.

He has completed 3 tours in Iraq. In 2003, he served in CJ5 Strategic Plans in the US Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Baghdad. In 2004, he commanded the Welsh Guards Battlegroup in Maysan on Operation TELIC 5. He returned to Baghdad again in 2009 as a Brigadier for a one year tour as Deputy Director CJ5, Multinational Force-Iraq.

In 2014-2015, he completed a one year tour in Afghanistan as the UK National Contingent Commander for the draw down in Helmand and Kandahar and the establishment of the new Operation TORAL in Kabul. Concurrently, he served as the NATO ISAF/Resolute Support advisor to the Afghan Minister of Defence and the Minister of Interior in Kabul.

Before arriving in the NATO Headquarters as the UK Military Representative, he served for 3 years as the General Officer Commanding London District. He was responsible for the first deployment of the military in London under Operation TEMPERER and for contingency planning for other Resilience operations. He also delivered State Ceremonial for Her Majesty The Queen, including Trooping the Colour, State Visits including the President of the United States of America and other occasions, including Royal Weddings.

He has attended Division II at the Royal Military College of Science (1995), the Army Command and Staff Course (1996), the Higher Command and Staff Course (2007) and the Royal College of Defence Studies (2015). He has an MA from Cranfield University.

He is married to Kate with 2 children, Emilia (20) and Alexander (18).

Governor of Gibraltar

Our mission is to support the Governor and Commander-in-Chief in carrying out his constitutional role and duties as His Majesty’s Representative in Gibraltar.

The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state. They are responsible for formally appointing the chief minister of Gibraltar, along with other members of the government of Gibraltar after a general election.

The governor serves as commander-in-chief of Gibraltar’s military forces and has sole responsibility for defence and security. Although recent appointments have all been former military personnel, most being former Royal Navy or Royal Marines flag officers, Sir James Dutton resigned from the role in 2015, complaining that it was “more representational and ceremonial than I had expected”.

The governor has his own flag in Gibraltar, the Union Flag defaced with the territory’s coat of arms. However, at the governor’s official residence (The Convent), the Union Flag and the flag of Gibraltar are also flown.

The Convent

The Convent has been the official residence of the governor of Gibraltar since 1728. It was originally a convent of Franciscan friars, hence its name, and was built in 1531, and heavily rebuilt during the 18th and 19th centuries. The dining room at the Convent has the most extensive display of heraldry in the Commonwealth of Nations.