General General Sir Roly Walker

Chief of the General Staff British Army

General Sir ‘Roly’ Walker was commissioned into the Irish Guards in 1993 and served with the UK’s Special Forces (SF) from 1997. He commanded the Grenadier Guards in 2009, promoting to the General Staff four years later.

He has commanded at company, squadron, battle group, brigade and SF group levels, variously in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Iraq, as well as joint command of operations across Europe, the broader Middle East, Africa and South America. On the Staff he has served in brigade, divisional, army and strategic Headquarters.

He was the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) at the Ministry of Defence since April 2021, during which time he was responsible for advising on and directing operations to support the government’s response to Covid, the death of the late Duke of Edinburgh, the withdrawal from Kabul, the full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II and coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, numerous evacuation operations and most recently the Hamas attacks on Israel.

In December 2023 it was announced that General Walker was to be the new Chief of the General Staff, succeeding General Sir Patrick Sanders. He was made a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath in 2023, and a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 2010. General Walker is the President of the Honourable Artillery Company, Army Rugby and Army Winter Sports. Married, with three daughters, he lives in Herefordshire.