{{Short description|British Army officer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = General | name = Sir Chris Deverell | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|MBE}} | image = Sir Christopher Deverell.jpg | alt = | caption = Deverell in 2016 | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = British Army | service_years = 1979–2019 | rank = General | unit = | commands = Joint Forces Command<br/>4th Armoured Brigade<br/>Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Regiment | battles = The Troubles<br/>Iraq War | awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath<br/>Member of the Order of the British Empire | relations = | other_work = }} '''Sir Christopher Michael Deverell''' is a retired British Army officer who served as Commander of the UK's Joint Forces Command and member of the UK Chiefs of Staff Committee from April 2016 to May 2019.
==Early life and education== Deverell was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://internationalarmouredvehicles.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/major-general-chris-deverell-director-general-logistics-support-and-equipment-at-hq-land-forces-speaks-at-international-armoured-vehicles-this-february/|title=Major General Chris Deverell, Director General Logistics Support and Equipment at HQ Land Forces Speaks at International Armoured Vehicles this February.|work=International Armoured Vehicles|date=21 January 2011|access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Mansfield College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1982.<ref name="WW 2020">{{cite web |title=Deverell, Gen. Sir Christopher |url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-262555 |website=Who's Who 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U262555 |date=1 December 2019|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 }}</ref> He was subsequently admitted to the Degree of Master of Arts (MA), and became an Honorary Fellow of Mansfield College in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/emeritus-honorary-fellows |title=Honorary Fellows |publisher=Mansfield College|access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>
==Military career== [[File:RAF 100 chiefs.jpeg|thumb|right|Deverell (left) with Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Stephen Hillier, and Chief of the General Staff, Sir Nicholas Carter]] Deverell was commissioned into the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment in 1979.<ref name=bio/> He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 Birthday Honours,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=52563|supp=y|page=6|date=14 June 1991}}</ref> and went on to command the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment.<ref name=bio/> He commanded 4th Armoured Brigade in Iraq (Basra and Maysan Governorates) and Germany (Osnabrück and Münster) from January 2005.<ref name=bio/>
He was a Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence George Robertson, and later Geoff Hoon, from 1997 to 2000.<ref name=deverell-about/>
Deverell became Director Equipment Capability (Ground Manoeuvre) from April 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmpubacc/860/860we02.htm|title=House of Commons – Public Accounts Committee – Written Evidence|access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> and was made Director General Logistics Support and Equipment at HQ Land Forces in December 2008.<ref>[https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2009-01-14a.152.3 Ministry of Defence: Senior Responsible Owner] House of Lords, 14 January 2009</ref> He became Chief of Materiel (Land) and Quartermaster General from May 2012.<ref>[http://www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk/defence-news/up-and-out-june-2011 Defence View points] June 2011</ref> Appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2015 New Year Honours,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61092|supp=y|page=N2|date=31 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-year-honours-for-service-personnel-and-defence-civilians-2015|title=New Year Honours for service personnel and defence civilians 2015|access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref> Deverell was promoted to general on 5 April 2016 on appointment as Commander of Joint Forces Command.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61545|supp=y|page=7739|date=5 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-secretary-of-state-announces-new-senior-appointments-in-the-armed-services|title=The Secretary of State announces new Senior Appointments in the Armed Services|publisher=Ministry of Defence|access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> He was appointed as an Aide-de-Camp General to The Queen on the same date.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61656|supp=y|page=16081|date=25 July 2016}}</ref> He retired from the British Army in September 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/chris_deverell/status/1126616675770667008?s=21|title=Well, career 2.0, here we go!|last=Deverell|first=Sir Chris|date=2019-05-09|website=@chris_deverell|language=en|access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref>
==Later career== In 2019, Deverell founded an Innovation, Strategy and Leadership Consultancy, called Deverell Innovation Ventures.<ref name="Deverell Innovation Ventures">{{cite web |title=Deverell Innovation Ventures |url=https://deverellinnovation.ventures/ |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref> Amongst other roles, he is a Mentor for the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)<ref name="Mentors at Creative Destruction Lab - Oxford">{{cite web |title=Mentors at Creative Destruction Lab - Oxford |url=https://creativedestructionlab.com/mentors/ |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref> at Saïd Business School, and an External Member of the Council of the University of Oxford.<ref name=deverell-about>{{cite web |url=https://governance.admin.ox.ac.uk/council/people/sir-chris-deverell|title=Sir Chris Deverell |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=8 September 2020}}</ref> He was a member of the Commission for Smart Government in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Members of the Commission for Smart Government |url=https://www.governsmarter.org/commissioners |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>
In September 2020, he wrote a ''The Daily Telegraph'' article advocating radical innovation at the Ministry of Defence, including spending 10% of budgets on digital innovation and the creation of a Chief Digital Officer.<ref name=telegraph-20200907>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/07/innovating-will-mod-cut-gordian-knot-many-threats-little-money/ |title=Only by innovating will MoD cut the 'Gordian knot' of too many threats and too little money |author=Sir Chris Deverell |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url-access=subscription |date=7 September 2020 |access-date=8 September 2020}}</ref> He has since continued to comment occasionally on Defence matters, including about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="Putin's certainties are crumbling">{{cite web |title=What Putin believes |url=https://twitter.com/chris_deverell/status/1501493351702540292 |publisher=@chris_deverell |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="Deterrence and Ukraine">{{cite web |title=Deterrence and Ukraine |url=https://twitter.com/chris_deverell/status/1503457027137630208 |publisher=@chris_deverell |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="An outcome of the Ukraine conflict">{{cite web |title=A road to peace? |url=https://twitter.com/chris_deverell/status/1504026632394264589 |publisher=@chris_deverell |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="We must do more for Ukraine">{{cite web |title=We must do more for Ukraine |url=https://twitter.com/chris_deverell/status/1511099518124761091 |website=@chris_deverell |access-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Sir Gary Coward}} {{s-ttl|title=Quartermaster-General to the Forces|years=2012–2016}} {{s-aft|after=Paul Jaques}} |- {{s-bef|before=Sir Richard Barrons}} {{s-ttl|title= Commander Joint Forces Command|years=2016–2019}} {{s-aft|after=Patrick Sanders}} |- {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Deverell, Christopher}} Category:Alumni of Mansfield College, Oxford Category:British military personnel of the Troubles (Northern Ireland) Category:British Army generals Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Living people Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Category:Royal Tank Regiment officers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)