Clinton Langston


Clinton Matthew Langston, QHC 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.

Early life and education

Langston was born in 1962. He studied at the Derby College of Education, graduating with a Bachelor of Combined Studies 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.

Ordained ministry

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

Military service

On 20 June 1994, Langston was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplains' Department as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class. On 20 June 1999, he moved from a Short Service Commission to a Regular Commission. He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class on 2 June 2000. In 2003, he was serving as chaplain to Army Training Regiment, Lichfield, based at Whittington Barracks. He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class on 30 June 2006. He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 1st Class on 30 June 2014.
On 15 May 2017, Langston took up the appointment of Deputy Chaplain General, the second most senior chaplain in the RAChD. He was promoted to Deputy Chaplain General on 30 June 2017. 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. He was made a non-residentiary canon of Salisbury Cathedral in October 2018. 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.
In addition to seeing service in Great Britain, Langston has been posted to Germany, Bosnia, Omagh, Northern Ireland, and Iraq.

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.
On 10 February 2017, Langston was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to The Queen.