Ed Davis (Royal Marines officer)

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Preceded bySarah Clarke
Preceded bySir James Dutton
Ed Davis
Ed Davis in August 2012
Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
Assumed office
8 July 2025
MonarchCharles III
Preceded bySarah Clarke
Governor of Gibraltar
In office
19 January 2016  18 February 2020
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded bySir James Dutton
Succeeded bySir David Steel
Personal details
BornEdward Grant Martin Davis
(1963-02-13) 13 February 1963 (age 63)
Hereford, England
SpouseLorraine Davis
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceRoyal Marines
Years of service1981–2016
RankLieutenant General
CommandsCommandant General Royal Marines (2011–14)
3 Commando Brigade (2010–11)
Battles/warsBosnian War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Knight of the Order of St John
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Viceregal styles of
Ed Davis
(2016–2020)
Reference styleHis Excellency
Spoken styleYour Excellency

Lieutenant General Edward Grant Martin Davis, CB, CBE, KStJ (born 13 February 1963) is a former senior Royal Marines officer. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from December 2011 to June 2014, and the Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, from 2014 to 2015. He was Governor of Gibraltar from 2016 to 2020.

On 8 July 2025, Davis took office as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the House of Lords, succeeding Sarah Clarke.[1]

Davis was born in Hereford. He was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland and King's College London (MA Defence Studies, 1998).[2]

Military career

Davis was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1981 and joined 40 Commando with whom he undertook a six-month tour in the Falkland Islands and then a six-month tour in Cyprus.[3] In 1996, he attended the Army Command and Staff Course at Staff College, Camberley.[2] In the same year, he became Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of the Combat Service Support Group (UK) in which role he took part in the Bosnian War.[3] From 2002 to 2004, he was commanding officer of the Special Boat Service (SBS).[4]

He was appointed Chief of Staff to the Commander of the UK's Amphibious Forces in 2007 and was deployed to Afghanistan as Chief of Joint Effects for ISAF.[3] He was appointed Commander of 3 Commando Brigade in January 2010 and again deployed to Afghanistan – this time as the Commander of Task Force Helmand.[5] He became Commandant General Royal Marines in December 2011.[6]

Davis was promoted major general on 10 January 2012, with seniority from 28 November 2011.[7] He was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 July 2014,[8] and succeeded Lieutenant General Gordon Messenger as Deputy Commander of NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM)-Izmir.[9][10]

Civilian career

On 1 October 2015, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that Davis was the designated Governor of Gibraltar after the resignation of Sir James Dutton.[4][11]

Davis was appointed chair of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council's office in Gibraltar in 2021.[12][13] Davis stood down as Chair of CWEIC's Gibraltar Hub after his appointment as the Black Rod.[14]

On 29 April 2025 Davis was confirmed as having been appointed to be the next Black Rod, succeeding Sarah Clarke.[15] He received his insignia and took his oath from The King at Windsor Castle on 8 July 2025.[16][17]

Honours and awards

References

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