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Guernsey’s new Lieutenant-Governor is looking forward to meeting the island’s community following his official installation yesterday.
Lt.-Governor Richard Cripwell CB, CBE was sworn in during a ceremony at St. James. Various other events were held throughout the day to mark his appointment as the personal representative of the Sovereign in the Bailiwick and welcome him to the islands.
Pictured: A parade left Government House and went down the Grange to St James, where Mr Cripwell was installed as Lt.-Governor.
He will serve in the role for five years. He told Express that it offered the opportunities he was looking for after leaving active service.
“Service has been part of my life - for me it is much more than simply a word,” said Lt.-Governor Cripwell.
“The chance to continue that - to work with people, to be stimulated and challenged - all of these things seem to be part of the job and something I was looking for.”
He said it’s too early to lay out a plan for what he intends to do during his time as Lt.-Governor. But he said he hopes to begin by meeting people and learning about his new community.
“I like people. Being in the army is many things, but it is first and foremost a people business," he said.
“I like working with people, I like hearing their experiences, learning from them. I hope to use my experience to add some value as well.
“I want to do what anybody would want to do, which is meet people, talk to them, get to know the island better. Five years is much more of a marathon than a sprint.”
Pictured: “You know if a place is a place you want to be very quickly,” said Lt.-Governor Cripwell.
Lt.-Governor Cripwell has led a storied life. He was born in Northern Ireland and educated in Dublin.
After a career as a Royal Engineer, he was appointed Deputy Commander of Operation “Resolute Support” in Afghanistan.
He has served the armed forces in the Balkans, the Middle East and the United States.
“Mine has been an unusual military career, in the sense that I have moved around a lot. That’s been very deliberate - as a family, that has been very deliberate.
"We love moving to new places, new cultures, new countries. We enjoy the challenge of experiencing something different and that has been the driver in many things I’ve done.
“For us, coming to the Bailiwick is part of that.
"Places, however diverse they may seem, in my experience, always have a lot more in common than people think.”
Guernsey welcomes its new Lieutenant-Governor
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