Peter Beale ( British Army officer ) Lieutenant - General Sir Peter John Beale , KBE , FRCP ( born 18 March 1934 ) is a retired senior British Army officer . He was the Surgeon General of the British Armed Forces between 1991 and 1994 . He also served as the Chief Medical Adviser to the British Red Cross from 1994 to 2000 . Early life . Beale was born on 18 March 1934 to Basil and Eileen Beale . He was educated at St Paul ' s Cathedral School , an Independent preparatory school in the City of London , and on a music scholarship at Felsted School , a public school in Felsted , Essex . Following his preclinical studies , he received a Bachelor of Arts ( BA ) from Gonville and Caius College , University of Cambridge which he attended as a choral scholar . In 1958 , he qualified by graduating Bachelor of Medicine , Bachelor of Surgery ( MB BChir ) from Westminster Hospital Medical School . Military career . On 7 June 1960 , as part of National Service , Beale was commissioned in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a lieutenant . He was given the service number 465344 . On 8 July 1960 , he transferred from the national service list to a short service commission . He was given seniority in the rank of lieutenant from 26 October 1959 . He was promoted to captain on 26 October 1960 . He was the Regimental Medical Officer of 34 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment , Royal Artillery between 1960 and 1963 . On 1 May 1963 , he transferred to a regular commission . He was given seniority in the rank of captain from 26 October 1959 . He was promoted to major on 26 October 1964 . In 1971 , having completed his medical training in the form of attaining Membership of the Royal College of Physicians ( MRCP ) , he was made an army consultant physician . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 26 October 1972 . He became commander of the medical force attached to 2nd Division in 1981 . He was promoted to colonel on 1 April 1982 , by which point he had been elected Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians ( FRCP ) and attained the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene ( DTM & H ) . He was appointed Commander Medical , I Corps in 1984 . He was promoted to brigadier on 28 January 1985 with seniority from 26 October 1984 . He was appointed Commander Medical , UKLF in 1987 , and promoted to major general on 30 November of that year . He served as Director General Army Medical Services from 1990 to 1993 . He was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 October 1991 . He served as Surgeon General of the British Armed Forces between 1991 and 1994 . He retired from the British Army on 1 October 1994 . Later life . Upon leaving the British Army , Beale joined the British Red Cross as their Chief Medical Adviser . He held the post between 1994 and 2000 . He was president of the Old Felstedian Society between 1998 and 2001 , and the Army Officers Golf Society from 2001 to 2005 . Personal life . In 1959 , Beale married Julia Mary Winter , a fellow doctor . Together they had four sons and two daughters . One of the daughters predeceased her father . One of their sons is the actor Simon Russell Beale , two sons are consultant radiologists and their surviving daughter is a general practitioner . Julia died in 2000 . In 2001 , he married for a second time to Mary Elisabeth Williams . Honours and decorations . Beale was appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen ( QHP ) on 21 December 1987 . In 1991 , he was appointed Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John ( CStJ ) . In the 1992 New Year Honours , he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( KBE ) .