Tuesday 23 April 2013

The Lord Stirrup KG


THE QUEEN has been graciously pleased to appoint the Right Honourable Graham Eric (Jock), Baron Stirrup, GCB, AFC, to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Air Chief Marshal Lord Stirrup, 63, is a former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).

The most recent three vacancies have been created due to the deaths of:
1. The Duke of Grafton (7 April 2011)
2. The Viscount Ridley (22 March 2012)
3. The Baroness Thatcher (8 April 2013)
Two vacancies now remain within the Order.

Lord Stirrup was CDS when British forces were committed in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lord Stirrup was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood, Hertfordshire, before receiving his commission from RAF College Cranwell, in Lincolnshire, in 1970.

After being promoted to squadron leader in January 1980, he was awarded an Air Force Cross in 1983 for his role in landing a severely damaged aircraft while instructing a trainee.

He was made wing commander in July 1984 and was station commander of RAF Marham, in Norfolk, during the Gulf War in 1991.

In August 2003 he was promoted to air chief marshal and appointed chief of the air staff after serving as UK national contingent commander at the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001.

He sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords where he has argued the case for Afghan interpreters and their families to be allowed to settle in Britain.

Married with with one son, Lord Stirrup is said to enjoy golf, music, theatre and history.

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