Lieutenant-general Sir Anthony Pigott
Officer who helped to establish a European defence force and worked on the Nasa Apollo project
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR ANTHONY PIGOTT, who has died aged 75, was Chief of Staff Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) from 1993 to 1994. With the end of the Cold War, it was decided at the highest political and military level to establish a new force within Allied Command Europe with the weight and flexibility to respond quickly and effectively to crises and challenges.
With his first-rate intellect, diplomatic flair, energy and determination, Pigott played a leading part in overcoming conflicting national interests and creating an operational, multinational, deployable force. It was based at Bielefeld, the home of 1 British Corps, before moving to the Rheindahlen Military Complex. Pigott oversaw the transition and became its first chief of staff.
He was manifestly cerebral, his mental chess skills meaning that he was often several moves ahead of others in a discussion, leading to unfounded accusations that he was disengaged. In reality, he was generous with his thought processes, warm-hearted, and adroit at reconciling cultural differences with his ready sense of humour.
Anthony David Pigott was born on December 23 1944 at Rawalpindi, India (now Pakistan). His father was a dental surgeon, his mother a nursing sister. He was educated at St George’s College, Weybridge, where he was head boy, before going to Sandhurst on an Army scholarship.
He was one of three Sappers in the top four of the Order of Merit.
In 1964, he was commissioned and the following year went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, for his in-service degree course. He played rugby and rowed for the College. On one occasion, finding himself locked out after curfew, he tried to climb in through a skylight and broke his leg.
He was seconded to the US Army Corps of Engineers and headed a British joint services team working on the Apollo Project.
After an expedition across the Sahara sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society, he was posted to an Engineer Regiment in Germany. The two-year tour included Northern Ireland. His next move was to MOD Stanmore, where he was responsible for the career development of some 700 officers, and then to Staff College.
In 1977 he commanded a field squadron of 38 Engineer Regiment. It was based at Ripon but was deployed at short notice to Belize to construct an operational base. On his return to England there was a fireman’s strike over pay and, for some weeks, he was Chief Fire Officer West Yorkshire.
Pigott returned to the MOD in 1978 to join the Army Staff Duties Directorate with responsibility for the deployment of the Army on overseas operations. After serving as instructor at Staff College, in 1981 he became Military Assistant to the Vice Chief of the General Staff.
Four years in Germany followed: he commanded 25 Engineer Regiment at Osnabruck and then moved to HQ 1 British Corps, Bielefeld, as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Intelligence. He attended the 1989 Course at the Royal College of Defence Studies. The Cold War was coming to an end and he was visiting Berlin on the day the Wall was torn down.
In June that year he was promoted brigadier and appointed Commandant of the Royal School of Military Engineering, Chatham. In 1992 he led the ARRC Working Group and laid the foundations for the establishment of the new force. At the end of his tour as chief of staff, he was the last
Commandant of the Camberley Staff College before it closed.
After an appointment as Director General British Army Doctrine and Force Development or, as he preferred, Director General Future Army, he became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. He had wide contacts within the MOD, the Security Agencies, the Cabinet Office and the joint staff in Washington. During almost four years, major preoccupations included Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan and 9/11.
He was admired for his distinctive leadership style. Selfless with his time, he took the greatest interest in those who worked for him, regardless of their rank or background, nurturing their development and encouraging them to make the very best of themselves. These qualities, allied to his natural charm, inspired great loyalty and affection.
Pigott retired from the Army in 2004 and worked for Qinetiq. He was Colonel of the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers from 1996 to 2006, president of the Institution of Royal Engineers from 1997 to 2002 and chairman of the Gordon Foundation from 2002 to 2014. He was appointed MBE in 1978, OBE in 1984, CBE in 1993 and knighted in 2001.
Lieutenant-general Sir Anthony Pigott married, in 1981, Felicity Astley-cooper, who survives him with their daughter and two sons.