{{Short description|British general (1937–2017)}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = Lieutenant General |name= Sir Richard Swinburn |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB}} |image= |image_size= |alt= |caption= |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|df=yes|1937|10|30}} |birth_place= |death_date= {{Death date and age|df=yes|2017|10|11|1937|10|30}} |death_place= Dummer, Hampshire |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= British Army |service_years= 1957–1995 |rank= Lieutenant General |service_number= |unit= |commands= South East District<br/>1st Armoured Division<br/>7th Armoured Brigade<br/>17th/21st Lancers |battles= |awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |spouse= {{marriage|Jane Elise Brodie|1964|2001|reason=died}}<br/>{{marriage|Susan Ferguson|2012}} |relations= |other_work= }} Lieutenant General '''Sir Richard Hull Swinburn''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|KCB}} (30 October 1937 – 11 October 2017<ref>[http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/218045/swinburn Swinburn]</ref>) was a senior British Army officer who served as Commander of the UK Field Army from 1994 to 1995.
==Military career== Educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Swinburn was commissioned into the 17th/21st Lancers in 1957.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41191|page=5759|date=1 October 1957}}</ref> He became commanding officer of the 17th/21st Lancers in 1979 and commander of the 7th Armoured Brigade in 1983.<ref name=debrett>Debrett's People of Today 1994</ref> He went on to be General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1st Armoured Division in 1987 and Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 1989.<ref name=debrett/> He was made GOC South East District in 1990 (which was retitled Southern District in 1992).<ref name=debrett/> He was then made Commander UK Field Army in 1994,<ref name=debrett/> and retired in 1995.<ref>Whitaker's Almanack 1996</ref>
Swinburn was given the colonelcy of the Queen's Royal Lancers from 1995 to 2001.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D16QRL.htm|title=The Queen's Royal Lancers|publisher=Regiments.org|accessdate=11 February 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226130924/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D16QRL.htm|archivedate=26 December 2005|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
==Family== Swinburn was the son of Major General Henry Robinson Swinburn (1897–1981) and Naomi Hull (1903–1992). His maternal grandfather was Major General Sir Charles Hull and his uncle was Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull. In 1964 he married Jane Elise Brodie, who died in 2001.<ref name=debrett/> In September 2012, it was announced that he was engaged to Susan Ferguson (née Deptford), the widow of Major Ronald Ferguson and the stepmother of Sarah Ferguson.<ref>{{cite web|title=Duchess of York's delight as stepmother finds love with Army hero|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9520989/Duchess-of-Yorks-delight-as-stepmother-finds-love-with-Army-hero.html|work=The Telegraph|date=5 September 2012|accessdate=5 September 2012}}</ref> They married in December 2012. Prince Andrew, Sarah, Duchess of York, and their two daughters attended Sir Richard and Lady Swinburn's wedding celebrations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beatrice and Eugenie share Duchess of York's joy as stepmother remarries|url=http://www.helloonline.com/royalty/2012122110562/prince-andrew-sarah-ferguson-wedding/|work=Hello|date=21 December 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Anthony Mullens}} {{s-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division|years=1987–1989}} {{s-aft|after=Roger Wheeler|rows=2}} |- {{s-bef|before=Charles Guthrie}} {{s-ttl|title=Assistant Chief of the General Staff|years=1989–1990}} |- {{s-bef|before=Sir Peter de la Billière}} {{s-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding South East District|years=1990–1994}} {{s-aft|after=Sir Anthony Denison-Smith<br/><small>(AS GOC Southern District)</small>}} |- {{s-bef|before=Sir Michael Rose}} {{s-ttl|title=Commander UK Field Army|years=1994–1995}} {{s-aft|after=Sir Hew Pike}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinburn, Richard}} Category:1937 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:British Army lieutenant generals Category:17th/21st Lancers officers Category:People from Dummer, Hampshire Category:20th-century British Army personnel