Sir Andrew Gregory steps down as SSAFA Controller

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28 February 2025

Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Gregory KBE CB DL steps down from his role as Controller of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity on Friday, February 28, 2025.

His tenure lasted for nearly nine years and saw him steer the charity through a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis that affected many, including those in the Armed Forces community – serving and retired.

When he announced his retirement, he said: “With considerable regret – because I am proud and passionate about SSAFA, I very much enjoy my job and I could not ask for better people to work with (each and every one of you), I have decided to step down from being the Controller.

“By the time I leave, I will have had the privilege of filling this position for about eight and a half years, but I will be 67 and Sally and I want some more time to travel, enjoy our grandson and busy ourselves with all the other things that oldies do (not sure what they are, but I’m sure I’ll find out!) before we fall to bits!”

He hosted his final SSAFA “Town Hall” on Monday, and those attending sent their best wishes to Sir Andrew. Comments included:

• Thank you Andrew for always keeping us focused on the people we serve first and foremost, and for having a good sense of humour when things get stressful!
   
• Wishing you all the very best and a relaxing retirement! Thank you for all the support you have given to ‘HMS SSAFA Overseas’.
   
• Thank you Andrew for being a truly compassionate and inspiring leader, enjoy your retirement.
  
  And a simple:
• You will be missed.
  
  

Sir Andrew ended by giving those civilians in the audience a final lesson in Military Voice Procedure. He explained that films and TV programmes so often get it wrong when characters are communicating via radio by saying “Over and out”, which is contradictory.
 
“That really annoys me,” he began, “because ‘Over’ means one is awaiting a further response, while ‘Out’ means the speaker’s transmission is over.
 
“So, my final transmission to the charity is ‘Gregory out.’”
 
And with that, he was gone, but leaves behind a legacy of being utterly focused on bringing the best possible support the Armed Forces family, and continuing the motto of Sandhurst “Serve to Lead”.
 
Sir Andrew’s replacement will be announced in the near future, and until they take up post, SSAFA’s Chief Operating Officer Simon Blum will act as CEO.