Richard King has been with this Worshipful Company for 15 years. On progressing to Liveryman he became a steward in 2016 and was then chair of the Services Committee for five years, also becoming a Court Assistant. Richard remains an active member of the Services Committee and helps to organise the Company’s annual City Freemens’ sheep driving team.
Richard served in the Intelligence Corps for twenty four years, initially as a reservist before committing to a full time career. His security postings included with unit, formations and Headquarters in Germany, Great Britain and Northern Ireland and he spent periods as a specialist Counter Terrorist Advisor, High Threat Events Lead for the Army and Desk Head of Protective Security for UK Land Forces. Specialist roles included working with the Home Office Scientific Development Branch on the Rotakin CCTC tool and as a panel member on the HMP Whitemoor Review Board in 1994/95. He worked with Navy and Air Force colleagues to change from a process of mandatory minimum measures to a system of security risk management within the Ministry of Defence, going on to help draft and peer review elements of the first edition of the Joint Services Defence Manual of Security.
On leaving the army Richard moved into a second career in law enforcement as a civil servant. He initially joined HM Customs and Excise Investigations in 2001 before moving to the Serious Organised Crime Agency on its formation in 2006 and finally the National Crime Agency in 2013. In addition to investigative roles he has held specialist security roles both in UK and overseas, where he was Head of Threats for SOCA and helped to deliver a safe and secure London 2012 Olympics. As an Overseas Security Manager he protected staff and materiel in various high threat posts and developed and provided specialist training for staff going to work overseas. Richard collaborated with other government departments and agencies on a number of projects including national standards for armoured vehicles and electronic countermeasures and was a peer reviewer for the BSI on updates to ISO/IEC 27001. Richard has recently retired.
Passionate about first aid and community resilience, Richard is a volunteer with St John Ambulance, where he managed a Volunteer Vaccination Unit of over 100 during the Covid pandemic and is currently the Functional Lead for community engagement and fund raising in the City and adjacent boroughs. He has also been a volunteer emergency co-responder with the London Ambulance Service and retains a current clinical qualification. He has represented Tower Hamlets on the London Ambulance Users’ Committee for several years. Richard has had a lifelong interest in aviation and is an honorary Colonel in the Commemorative Air Force, as well as having membership in other aircraft preservation societies. He currently chairs a Veterans’ club in Hackney and recently joined the Aldgate Ward Club.
