Anthony Pigott
{{Short description|British Army general (1944–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Sir Anthony Pigott
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|12|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Rawalpindi, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|3|19|1944|12|23|df=yes}}
| allegiance = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
| branch = 23px British Army
| serviceyears = 1965–2003
| rank = Lieutenant General
| unit =
| commands = Staff College, Camberley
| battles = Iraq War
| awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
Lieutenant-General Sir Anthony David Pigott, KCB, CBE (23 December 1944 – 19 March 2020){{Cite web|url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/240292/pigott|title=PIGOTT - Deaths Announcements - Telegraph Announcements|website=announcements.telegraph.co.uk}} was a British Army officer. He also served as Independent Member of Steering Board at the Intellectual Property Office.
Early life
Pigott was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Pigott RADC and Mollie Pigott, an officer in the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps.{{cite web|url= https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/lieutenant-general-sir-anthony-pigott-obituary-0vr3tr872|title=Lieutenant-General Sir Anthony Pigott obituary|date=2 May 2020|work=The Times|access-date=2 May 2020}}
Military career
Educated at St George's College, Weybridge, and Trinity College, Cambridge, Pigott was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1965.{{London Gazette|issue=43576|supp=y|page=1675|date=12 February 1965}} As a major, he commanded a squadron of 38 Engineer Regiment at Ripon, in which role he was deployed to Belize in 1976 to build a camp from which local soldiers could defend the area against attack from Guatemala. In 1977 he was deployed to Bradford as Chief Fire Officer, West Yorkshire during the Firemen's Strike and then went on to become military assistant to the Vice-Chief of the General Staff. As a brigadier he played a key role in establishing the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ('ARRC') and then, as a major-general, he became the first Chief of Staff of the ARRC in 1992. He was deployed to Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina when the ARRC took the lead in the United Nations Protection Force.
He became Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, in 1994 and Director-General, Doctrine and Development in 1997.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Army Commands|archivedate=5 July 2015}} From 2000 he served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) with responsibility for planning and executing the invasion of Afghanistan.[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/22/iraq-inquiry-anthony-pigott-david-wilson Iraq war inquiry key witnesses: Lieutenant General Sir Anthony Pigott and Major General David Wilson], The Guardian He retired in 2003.
Later life
After retiring from the Armed Forces, Pigott took a position of Independent Member of Steering Board at the Intellectual Property Office.[http://www.ipo.gov.uk/about/whatwedo/steer/steer-pigott.htm Sir Anthony Pigott] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213080513/http://www.ipo.gov.uk/about/whatwedo/steer/steer-pigott.htm |date=13 February 2011 }}, Intellectual Property Office
On 4 December 2009, Pigott gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8394683.stm|title='Defining moment' as US revealed Iraq plans|date=4 December 2009|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|accessdate=28 January 2010}} From his evidence, it emerged that he chaired an informal working group in the Ministry of Defence in mid-2002 to explore possibilities for British military involvement in an invasion of Iraq and its possible repercussions. He told the inquiry that his aim was to avoid a poorly planned "off-the-cuff" campaign.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/09/iraq-war-after-blair-and-bush-met-the-tempo-changed|title=When Blair met Bush: how the UK went to war in Iraq|last=Hopkins|first=Nick|authorlink=Nick Hopkins|date=9 July 2016|work=The Guardian|accessdate=21 March 2020}}
Family
In 1981, he married Felicity Ann Astley-Cooper.{{Cite web|url=http://thepeerage.com/p25201.htm#i252009|title=Person Page|website=thepeerage.com}} They had three children including a daughter, Anna, who married Simon Hervé Marie Ghislain, Prince de Merode, son of Léonel Amaury Marie Ghislain, Prince de Merode, in September 2010.{{Cite web|url=http://thepeerage.com/p63964.htm#i639635|title=Person Page|website=thepeerage.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Christopher Wallace}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley|years=1994–1996}}
{{s-aft|after=College Disbanded}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Sir John Day}}
{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments)|years=2000–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir Robert Fry}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pigott, Anthony}}
Category:British Army lieutenant generals
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)