General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, KCB, CBE Portrait Sitting London. (Rory Lewis Photographer) Copyright © Rory Lewis Non Profit (Heroes in Focus) London 2022.
In 2022, Rory Lewis Non-Profit was honoured to record a formal portrait of General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, KCB, CBE, undertaken in London during his tenure as Chief of the General Staff. The commission was created for permanent display within the gallery of former Chiefs—an historic lineage marking the stewardship of the British Army’s senior leadership.
By tradition, each departing Chief leaves behind a signed portrait for the office, forming a visual archive viewed by successors for generations. This sitting marked a particularly meaningful moment: it became the second portrait by Rory Lewis to be hung within the Chiefs’ gallery—an enduring contribution to the Army’s institutional memory.
The setting itself carries immense historical weight. Upon the walls hang portraits of figures whose influence shaped modern military history, including Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and Field Marshal Lord Guthrie, whom Rory Lewis previously photographed in 2017. To add another chapter to this continuum through the work of the Non-Profit underscores its mission: to preserve service, leadership, and legacy through portraiture.
Commissioned into the Irish Guards on 3 September 1982, General Carleton-Smith’s career spans four decades of operational command and strategic leadership. His service includes deployments during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Gulf War (1991), and later as an SAS Squadron Commander in Bosnia.
General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, KCB, CBE Portrait Sitting London. (Rory Lewis Photographer) Copyright © Rory Lewis Non Profit (Heroes in Focus) London 2022.