Lieutenant General Sir Tyrone Richard Urch, KBE (born 12 June 1965) is a former senior British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command and later Commander, Home Command.

Sir Tyrone Urch
Urch in 2020
Born (1965-06-12) 12 June 1965 (age 59)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1984–2021
RankLieutenant General
CommandsHome Command
Force Troops Command
1st Mechanised Brigade
22 Engineer Regiment
Battles / warsIraq War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Early life and education

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Urch was born on 12 June 1965. He was educated at Lord Weymouth's School, Warminster, and Welbeck College. He studied at Cranfield University (BEng) and King's College London (MA).[1]

Military career

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Urch was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 4 June 1984.[2] In 2001, as officer commanding 20 Field Squadron, he led the construction of two schools, a new hangar at Price Barracks and a jungle research station in Belize.[3] He became Commanding Officer of 22 Engineer Regiment in 2004,[4] and was deployed to Iraq later that year.[5] He went on to be Commander of 1st Mechanised Brigade in December 2008, Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in December 2010,[6] and Chief of Staff for Land Forces in October 2012.[7] After that he became General Officer Commanding Force Troops Command in February 2015;[8] he was promoted to lieutenant-general and became Commander Home Command in June 2018.[9] He retired in June 2021.[10]

He was a Colonel Commandant in the Royal Engineers until October 2023,[11] and Chief Royal Engineer from 14 September 2018 until 1 January 2024.[12][13]

Urch was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours,[14] and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours.[15]

References

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  1. ^ ‘URCH, Maj. Gen. Tyrone Richard’, Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2016
  2. ^ "No. 49754". The London Gazette. 4 June 1984. p. 7751.
  3. ^ "Rumble in the jungle". New Civil Engineer. 24 May 2001. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  4. ^ "First Soldiers move in" (PDF). Drumbeat. February 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Operational honours list". Token Publishing. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Senior Tri-Service and Ministry of Defence Posts" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Too Many Generals...Not Enough For Them To Do?". Combat and Survival. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  9. ^ "No. 62321". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2018. p. 10419.
  10. ^ Urch, Tyrone [@UrchTyrone] (8 June 2021). "Thank you @home_comdsm and everyone in HQ Home Command and Standing Joint Command (UK) for this amazing and deeply emotional send off" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "No. 64276". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 2024. p. 26494.
  12. ^ "No. 62413". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 September 2018. p. 16640.
  13. ^ "No. 64327". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 2024. p. 3867.
  14. ^ "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2011. p. 5.
  15. ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N6.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command
2015–2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander Home Command
2018–2021
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Chief Royal Engineer
2018–2024
Succeeded by
  NODES
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