Lieutenant General Peter Pearson CB CBE

Trustee

Peter Pearson joined the 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles on commissioning from Sandhurst in 1975. He spent almost exactly 35 years in the Army, retiring in March 2010.

Life with the Gurkhas took him to Hong Kong, Brunei and Nepal, as well as tours at home, as part of the UK’s airborne brigade. He commanded his Regiment from 1993 to 1995, during which time it amalgamated with the other three Gurkha rifle regiments into a new regiment: The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Operational tours saw him deployed to Northern Ireland, Belize, Bosnia and Kosovo, commanding everything from a platoon to a brigade. His final four posts in the Army, at General rank, consisted: Deputy Commander for Operations Stabilisation Force, Bosnia; Commander British Forces Cyprus; Commandant Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; and Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command, Naples.

He counts himself a very lucky soldier, particularly as he managed to avoid serving in the Ministry of Defence, and also because he was the ‘Colonel’ of his Regiment for 10 years. He wrote the third volume of the 10GR history in 2000.

On leaving the Army he became the Executive Director of British Exploring Society until 2014. He was also Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 2010-2015. He became the Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor in 2012 and combines his duties with some leadership and strategy consultancy work.

Peter has been married to Francesca for 45 years (or so) and they have three grown up children, a handful of grandchildren and two working cocker spaniels. Life is spent between home in South Wales and Windsor Castle.