Christopher Airy

Sir Christopher Airy
Born (1934-03-08) 8 March 1934
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1954–89
Rank Major General
Commands held London District
5th Field Force
1st Battalion Scots Guards
Battles/wars Operation Banner
Awards Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Major General Sir Christopher John Airy, KCVO, CBE (born 8 March 1934) is a retired British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding the London District] and Major-General commanding the Household Division from 1986 to 1989.

Military career

Educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,[1] Airy was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in 1954.[2]

Airy became Personal Military Assistant to the Secretary of State for War in 1960, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General and Regimental Adjutant in 1967 and Brigade Major of 4th Guards Brigade in 1971. In 1974 he transferred to the Scots Guards in 1974 on appointment as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards.[3] Two years later he became Military Assistant to the Master-General of the Ordnance.

In 1979 he became Commander of the 5th Field Force, and in 1982 Assistant Chief of Staff at United Kingdom Land Forces.

Promoted to major-general in 1983, he served at the Royal College of Defence Studies,[4] before becoming Major-General commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District in 1986.[5] He retired in 1989.[6]

In 1990 he was appointed as Private Secretary and Treasurer to the Prince and Princess of Wales,[7] remaining in office for slightly under a year,[8] and was made an Extra Equerry to the Prince of Wales in 1991.[9] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1984,[10] and a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1989.[11]

Family

Airy married Judith Stephenson in 1959 and has one son and two daughters. His daughter-in-law Lucinda is a granddaughter of Edward Clive Bigham, 3rd Viscount Mersey and Katherine Petty-FitzMaurice, Lady Nairne, eldest daughter of the 6th Marquess of Lansdowne.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Burke's Peerage
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40133. p. 1875. 26 March 1954. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46403. p. 11380. 18 November 1974. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49619. p. 685. 16 January 1984. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50446. p. 3086. 3 March 1986. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51853. p. 9950. 28 August 1989. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 52142. p. 9351. 18 May 1990. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  8. ↑ Where Has the Love Gone? People Magazine, 22 July 1991
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 52755. p. 19774. 24 December 1991. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49583. p. 5. 30 December 1983. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 51797. p. 7679. 30 June 1989. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Burke's Peerage, Volume 2, page 2669
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir James Eyre		 GOC London District
1986–1989 		Succeeded by
Sir Simon Cooper
Court offices
Preceded by
Sir John Riddell		 Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales
1990–1991 		Succeeded by
Richard Aylard
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