He was educated at Hele's School, Exeter, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and St John's College, Cambridge.

In 1975, he qualified as a helicopter pilot, and was given command of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment Air Squadron, operating in Central America and Northern Ireland.

In 1982, he attended the Army Staff College at Camberley, before taking command of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment in 1991[2] and the 7th Armoured Brigade (the 'Desert Rats') in 1993.

In 1994, he was appointed UN Commander in Central Bosnia and Herzegovina,[3] and became Chief of Staff for the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps for NATO's entry into the Kosovo War in 1999.

Though largely a symbolic and ceremonial appointment, the post of Lieutenant-Governor is the essential link between Jersey and the Crown, as the Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom.