Clinton Langston

Clinton Matthew Langston, CB, QHC (born 1962) is a British Anglican priest and military chaplain. He has served as Chaplain General of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, British Army since 2018 and as Archdeacon for the Army in the Church of England since 2017. He was previously Deputy Chaplain General from 2017 to 2018.

The Venerable Clinton Langston CB QHC
Archdeacon for the Army
Langston in 2019
Church	Church of England
In office	14 July 2017 – present
Predecessor	Peter Eagles
Other posts	Chaplain General, British Army (2018–present)
Orders
Ordination	1990 (deacon) 1991 (priest)
Personal details
Birth name	Clinton Matthew Langston
Born	1962 (age 58–59)
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglicanism
Alma mater	Derby College of Education Queen's College, Birmingham
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1994–present
Rank	Chaplain General (equivalent to major general)
Unit	Royal Army Chaplains' Department
Battles/wars	Bosnian War The Troubles Iraq War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath

Early life and education

Langston was born in 1962. He studied at the Derby College of Education, graduating with a Bachelor of Combined Studies (BCombStuds) in 1986. In 1987, he matriculated into Queen's College, Birmingham, an ecumenical theological college in Birmingham to train for ordained ministry and to study theology.[1]

Ordained ministry

Langston was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1990 and as a priest in 1991.[1] From 1990 to 1994, he served his curacy at St James the Great, Shirley in the Diocese of Birmingham.[1][2]

Military service

On 20 June 1994, Langston was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent in rank to captain).[3] On 20 June 1999, he moved from a Short Service Commission (limiting his service years) to a Regular Commission (allowing him to serve until retirement).[4] He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (equivalent to major) on 2 June 2000.[5] In 2003, he was serving as chaplain to Army Training Regiment, Lichfield, based at Whittington Barracks.[6] He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class (equivalent to lieutenant colonel) on 30 June 2006.[7] He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 1st Class (equivalent to colonel) on 30 June 2014.[8]

On 15 May 2017, Langston took up the appointment of Deputy Chaplain General, the second most senior chaplain in the RAChD.[9] He was promoted to Deputy Chaplain General (equivalent to brigadier) on 30 June 2017.[10] On 14 July 2017, he was licensed and collated as the Archdeacon for the Army: as such, he is a member of the General Synod.[11] He was made a non-residentiary canon of Salisbury Cathedral in October 2018.[12] On 14 December 2018, Langston was appointed Chaplain-General to Her Majesty's Land Forces: the Chaplain General is equivalent in rank to a major general.[13]

In addition to seeing service in Great Britain, Langston has been posted to Germany,[2] Bosnia,[6] Omagh, Northern Ireland,[11] and Iraq.[11]

Honours

Langston has been awarded a number of campaign medals: the NATO Medal for the former Republic of Yugoslavia, the General Service Medal with Northern Ireland clasp, and the Iraq Medal. He has also been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal.[11]

On 10 February 2017, Langston was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to The Queen (QHC).[14]

Langston was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 Birthday Honours.[15]

References

1. "Clinton Matthew Langston". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
2. "Church appointments". The Independent. 20 May 1994. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
3. "No. 53710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 June 1994. p. 8916.
4. "No. 55530". The London Gazette. 11 November 2014. p. 6781.
5. "No. 55866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 2000. p. 6154.
6. "A man of God in the Army". BBC News. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
7. "No. 58034". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 2006. p. 9066.
8. "No. 61044". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 November 2014. p. 21751.
9. "No. 61930". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 May 2017. p. 9902.
10. "No. 61983". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 2017. p. 12674.
11. "Archbishop Justin Licenses new Archdeacon to the Army". Archbishop of Canterbury. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
12. Ford, Michael (2 October 2018). "Five new canons for Salisbury Cathedral". Diocese of Salisbury. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
13. "No. 62499". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 December 2018. p. 22949.
14. "No. 61853". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 February 2017. p. 3746.
15. "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B2.