John Stibbon


Sir John James Stibbon, was a senior British Army officer who served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1987 to 1991.

Early life

Stibbon and his twin sister were born in London, England, on 5 January 1935 to Jack Stibbon, a policeman. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he was evacuated to Norfolk. He was educated at Portsmouth Southern Grammar School. At school, he was an accomplished athlete and footballer.

Military career

Having completed officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Stibbon was commissioned into the Royal Engineers, British Army, on 6 August 1954 as a second lieutenant. He was appointed Commanding Officer of 28th Amphibious Engineer Regiment in 1975 and then made Assistant Military Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in 1977. In 1979 he was made Commander of 20th Armoured Brigade and in 1983 he became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science. He was promoted to Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in 1985 and to Master-General of the Ordnance in 1987; he retired in 1991. He was also Chief Royal Engineer from 1993 to 1999 and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Pay Corps and of the Royal Pioneer Corps.

Later life

In retirement, Stibbon was a non-executive director of the Chemring Group from 1993 to 2005 and Chairman of ITT Defence Ltd from 1993 to 2004. He was also an Honorary Vice-President of the Football Association from 1987 to 1993.
Stibbon died on 9 February 2014. His funeral service was held at St Andrew's Church, Shrivenham on 25 February 2014.