David Rutherford-Jones

British Army general (born 1958)

David Rutherford-Jones
Born	(1958-08-11) 11 August 1958 (age 65)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1977–2011
Rank	Major General
Service number	504501
Commands held	The Light Dragoons 20th Armoured Brigade Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Battles/wars	United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Kosovo War Iraq War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

Major General David John Rutherford-Jones, CB (born 11 August 1958) is a retired British Army officer and former Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Early life

Rutherford-Jones was born on 11 August 1958^[1] and educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, from 1972 to 1976.^[2]

Military career

After attending the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Rutherford-Jones was commissioned into the 15th/19th Hussars as a second lieutenant on 6 August 1977.^[3] He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 August 1979,^[4] to captain on 6 February 1984,^[5] and major on 30 September 1990.^[6] In 1991, he commanded B squadron, 15th/19th Hussars during a 6-month tour of duty as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.^[1]

Rutherford-Jones served as chief of staff of the 1st Mechanised Brigade from 1993 to 1996.^[1] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1996.^[7] He served at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as a Staff Officer (Class 1) in the Joint Operation Centre from 1996 to 1997,^[1] and was chief of staff of the 3rd (UK) Division prior to the Kosovo War.^[1] He was then commanding officer of The Light Dragoons.^[1] While CO, the regiment served for a time in the Balkans.^[8] He was promoted to colonel on 30 June 2000,^[9] and to brigadier on 31 December 2001 with seniority from 30 June 2001.^[10]

Rutherford-Jones commanded the 20th Armoured Brigade during tours of duty in Kosovo (2001/02) and Iraq (2003/04). He was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the former Yugoslavia during the period 1st October 2001 to 31st March 2002".^[11] He became Director of the Royal Armoured Corps in 2005,^[12] and was appointed Aide de Camp to Queen Elizabeth II from 12 December 2005 to 1 October 2007.^[13]^[14] On 14 August 2007, he was promoted to major general and appointed Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.^[15] In September 2009, he became Military Secretary.^[12] Rutherford-Jones was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2010 Birthday Honours,^[16] and retired from the army on 25 May 2011.^[17]

Rutherford-Jones was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Army Music on 31 October 2009.^[18]^[19]

Later life

Upon retirement, Rutherford-Jones became Chief Executive of the charity Morden College.^[2] He has been a trustee of Blind Veterans UK since 2011.^[8]

Personal life

Rutherford-Jones is married to Sarah and has two children: George and Alice.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f NATO Biography
^ ^a ^b "Notable OLs". Lancing College. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
^ "No. 47328". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 September 1977. p. 11938.
^ "No. 47943". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1979. p. 11217.
^ "No. 49639". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 February 1984. p. 1737.
^ "No. 52288". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 October 1990. p. 15447.
^ "No. 54453". The London Gazette. 1 July 1996. p. 8911.
^ ^a ^b "Major General David Rutherford-Jones, CB". Blind Veterans UK. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
^ "No. 55901". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 2000. pp. 7243–7244.
^ "No. 56446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 January 2002. p. 171.
^ "No. 56734". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 October 2002. p. 3.
^ ^a ^b Colin Mackie. "Army Commands 1900–2011 – Senior Army Appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ "No. 57881". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 January 2006. p. 989.
^ "No. 58503". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 2007. p. 16054.
^ "No. 58419". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 2007. p. 11780.
^ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 2.
^ "No. 59796". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 2011. p. 10190.
^ "No. 59231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 November 2009. p. 18945.
^ Corps of Army Music
^ "Major General David Rutherford-Jones". Help for Heroes. Retrieved 14 July 2012.

Military offices
Preceded by Peter Pearson	Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 2007–2009	Succeeded by Patrick Marriott
Preceded by Mark Mans	Military Secretary 2009–2011	Succeeded by Andrew Gregory