Brigadier Nick Wight-Boycott

Commander Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Brigadier Nick Wight-Boycott joined the Army in 1997, commissioning into the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). He filled several appointments at regimental duty and deployed on operational tours of Northern Ireland (1999-2002), Bosnia (2002-3) and Iraq (2003). Highlights of this time included planning and leading an expedition to the Himalayas, completing the Jungle Warfare Instructors course, command of 16 Air Assault Brigade’s Pathfinder Platoon, which included a tour of Afghanistan in 2006 and qualifying as a high-altitude parachutist.

He returned to Afghanistan in 2010 as a Company Commander in 5 SCOTS. Subsequently he was Chief of Staff 16 Air Assault Brigade, before promotion and attendance at Advanced Command Staff College (2014-15). Command of 1 SCOTS followed, which included a UN tour in Cyprus and conversion to the Specialised Infantry role. Following command, he was an SO1 in the MOD a brief spell as DS at Staff College. He promoted to Colonel in 2020 and deployed to the Middle East as Deputy Director Operations CJTF-OIR (international coalition to defeat ISIS); followed by two years as a J3 DACOS in PJHQ and then membership of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Promoted to Brigadier in 2023, he was appointed to be the Chief of Staff of the Standing Joint Force HQ – the UK’s only deployable, very high readiness Joint HQ. Brigadier Wight-Boycott is the first Commander of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is married to Emma, and they have two sons: Max (14) and Lachlan (12). He enjoys being outdoors, particularly rock climbing, ski touring, cycling, and swimming, as well as reading a good book. He holds a master’s degree from King’s College London and was a awarded a QCVS in 2011 and an OBE in 2019.