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The Rt. Hon. The Lord Inge
5 August 1935 –
Field Marshal Rt Hon the Lord Inge KG, GCB, PC, DL
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1956 – 1997
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	1st Bn Green Howards North East District British Army of the Rhine
Awards	KG, GCB

Field Marshal Peter Anthony Inge, Baron Inge, KG, GCB, PC, DL (born 5 August 1935) was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1992 and 1994. On 15 March 1994 he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal and made Chief of the Defence Staff. Since retiring in 1997 he has been made a life peer and a Knight of the Garter. He has commanded, among other British Army regiments, the Green Howards.

He was a member of the Butler Inquiry team, chaired by Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, that determined that the intelligence used to declare Iraq's possession of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was flawed.^[1]

Educated at Wrekin College, Peter Inge was commissioned into the Green Howards from Sandhurst in 1956.^[2] He served with the 1st Battalion in Hong Kong, Germany and Libya. After working in the Ministry of Defence, he returned to the Battalion as a company commander, serving in Northern Ireland. From 1971 to 1972 he was Brigade Major with the 11th Armoured Brigade, before being appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion the Green Howards. ^[3] He subsequently commanded the Staff College’s Junior Division, then Task Force C of the British Army of the Rhine. In 1988 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, promoted to Lieutenant General and continued to serve in Germany as Chief of Staff of I (British) Corps. ^[3]

He returned to Britain as General Officer Commanding North Eastern District, based in York, then was appointed Director General, Logistics Policy (Army) at the Ministry of Defence. In 1989 he became the Commander of NATO’s Northern Army Group and Commander in Chief of British Army of the Rhine. ^[3]. For his services in the Rhine he was promoted from a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). On his return to the UK in 1992 he became Chief of the General Staff and in 1994 was promoted to Field Marshal and became Chief of the Defence Staff. He served in the post until 1997, when he was created a life peer as Baron Inge, of Richmond in the County of North Yorkshire.

He was appointed as one of the 24 Knights of the Garter in 2002. In 2004 he was made a Privy Councillor and appointed to serve on the Butler Committee, which examined the use of intelligence during the Iraq War.

He is president of the Pilgrims Society of Great Britain.

• Biography at ICx Technology
• Heathcote, T.A. (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736-1997. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-696-5

v • d • e Chiefs of the General Staff
Sir Richard Hull • Sir James Cassels • Sir Geoffrey Baker • Sir Michael Carver • Sir Peter Hunt • Sir Roland Gibbs • Sir Edwin Bramall • Sir John Stanier • Sir Nigel Bagnall • Sir John Chapple • Sir Peter Inge • Sir Charles Guthrie • Sir Roger Wheeler • Sir Michael Walker • Sir Mike Jackson • Sir Richard Dannatt