Major General Richard Cripwell

Biography

Richard Cripwell was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers in August 1982. His junior Regimental appointments were spent in Hong Kong, Germany and Zimbabwe. He commanded a company at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, 26 Engineer Regiment and was Commander Engineers in NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

On the staff he has served as Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Equipment Capability) and as the Assistant Director for Information Operations in the Ministry of Defence. As a Brigadier he served as an Assistant Chief of Staff at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood. On promotion to Major General was he was appointed the Administrator (Governor) of the Sovereign Base Areas, one the United Kingdom’s 14 Overseas Territories and Commander of British Forces in Cyprus.

A graduate of the Higher Command and Staff Course, he has served on operations in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Afghanistan and most of the Middle East. He was posted as the Defence Attaché in Washington in March 2015.