Having lapsed after the First World War, the title was again revived in the late 20th century for the most senior uniformed medical officer in the British Armed Forces.

With the formation of a standing army in the 1660s, there was a need for greater co-ordination of the provision of medical services (which had previously been arranged on a more ad hoc basis by individual regiments).

In 1664 the King's Physician-in-Ordinary and Serjeant Surgeon took on a similar role informally, before being appointed 'Surgeon General of all the Forces in England and Wales', in 1664.

[4] In November 1918, the titles of officers of the medical, accountant and naval instructor branches of the Navy were revised "in order to indicate more clearly their status as Officers of [His] Majesty's Naval Service"; thenceforward surgeons-general were styled surgeon rear-admirals and deputy surgeons-general were styled surgeon captains.

[9] Under Peter Homa as DGDMS, Air Vice-Marshal Alastair Reid (who had been appointed to the two-star position of Defence Medical Director in 2018) was designated Surgeon-General.