Gary Coward

Lieutenant General Sir Gary Robert Coward, KBE, CB (born 26 August 1955) is a retired senior British Army officer, who served as Chief of Materiél (Land) and Quartermaster-General to the Forces from September 2009 until his retirement in May 2012.

Sir Gary Coward
Born	(1955-08-26) 26 August 1955 (age 68)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1974–2012
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	497393
Unit	Army Air Corps
Commands held	1 Regiment Army Air Corps and Joint Helicopter Command
Battles/wars	Bosnian War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath

Military career

Coward was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1974,^[1] but transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1983.^[2] In 1995 he was deployed to the Bosnia and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service there.^[3] He provided daily briefings on television from Sarajevo during the conflict.^[4]

He was appointed Director of Equipment Capability at the Ministry of Defence in 2003,^[5] and then moved on to be Commander Joint Helicopter Command in 2005.^[6] In 2007 he moved on again to be Chief of Staff at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood.^[7] He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[8]

In September 2009 he was made Chief of Materiel (Land)^[9] and Quartermaster-General.^[10]

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours.^[11]

Coat of arms of Gary Coward

Crest On a Helm with a Wreath Argent Bleu Celeste and Azure Out of a Mural Crown Or a Rhino's head Azure armed with two Horns Bleu Celeste in the mouth a Rose Argent. Torse Bleu Celeste and Azure lined Argent. Escutcheon Quarterly Azure and Bleu Celeste a Bar indented of three points upwards Or between two Owls volant affronty Argent. Motto Aperius Honestus Et Perspicuus^[12] Badge A Sword point downwards Argent the hilt pommel and quillons Or the blade surmounted by a Rose Argent barbed and seeded Or

References

1. "No. 46270". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1974. p. 5057.
2. "No. 49237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 January 1983. p. 752.
3. "No. 54393". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 May 1996. p. 6547.
4. 656 Squadron
5. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
6. "No. 57712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 July 2005. p. 9645.
7. Construction work is completed at Northwood Headquarters Uxbridge Gazette, 4 February 2009
8. "No. 58729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2008. p. 2.
9. "No. 59177". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 September 2009. p. 15384.
10. "No. 59191". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 September 2009. p. 16222.
11. "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 5.
12. "December 2009 Newsletter (No. 23)". College of Arms. Retrieved 21 August 2019.

Military offices
Preceded by Paul Luker	Commander, Joint Helicopter Command 2005–2008	Succeeded by Tony Johnstone-Burt
Preceded by Dick Applegate	Quartermaster-General to the Forces 2009–2012	Succeeded by Christopher Deverell