List of Deputy Lieutenants in East Sussex
Marquess of Abergavenny - Crowborough
Through running the family estate at Eridge Park, he is very involved with farming diversification and property and town centre re-development.
Formally a district councillor for Wealden from 1996 to 2005. He is trustee for Royal British Legion Industries and patron of various local and national charities.
David Allam DL - Seaford
David is a former chairman of the South of England Agricultural Society and the Sussex Community Foundation.
He was High Sheriff of East Sussex 2012 to 2013 and is currently patron and ambassador for various county charities and Chichester Cathedral.
Deborah Bedford DL - Lewes
Previously High Sheriff, Deborah was a Brighton magistrate and family court judge for many years, as well as a member of Lewes Prison Independent Monitoring Board.
She is currently a trustee of Chichester Cathedral Restoration and Development Trust.
Michael Bedingfield DL - Brighton and Hove
Michael is chairman of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust and of HMS Warrior 1860. He is also chairman of Income Generation for Martlets Hospice.
He has been involved with numerous trusteeships, with over 20 years' experience in the arts, charity, museum and tourism sectors.
Geoffrey Bush DL - Fulking
Geoffrey's background is corporate social responsibility and charity management. As a founder trustee of The Distillers Charity, he currently leads the Youth Action Fund. This is a collaborative project transforming the life chances of hardest to reach young people in Scotland’s deprived neighbourhoods.
Maureen Chowen DL - Brighton and Hove
Maureen was the High Sheriff of East Sussex from 2017 to 2018, is married to Michael and lives in Brighton.
She is an active supporter of many local charities, including St Barnabas Hospice and Chestnut Tree Children’s Hospice.
Gus Christie DL - Lewes
Gus has been executive chair of Glyndebourne Productions Ltd since January 2000, overseeing the growth of the charity economically and artistically.
Glyndebourne now employs more than 180 people on a permanent basis, up to 600 on a seasonal or freelance basis and puts over £17 million into the local economy annually.
Timothy (Tim) Cobb DL - Eastbourne
Tim set up a public relations company in 1995 which now employs 22 staff in Eastbourne and Brighton. He is very involved with the Sussex business community and is a director of the Eastbourne and District Chamber of Commerce.
Tim is patron of Holding Space mental health charity and Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare. He is also a member of the advisory board of the employment support charity People Matter and a member of the Patient Practice Group at VMC health practice.
Simon Corello JP DL - Battle
Simon became a Justice of the Peace in 2006. He sits both as a magistrate in the criminal court and as a Tier 1 Judge of the Family Court.
He is also a member of the regional leadership committee within the judiciary. He previously served in the military.
Paul Davis DL - Brighton and Hove
Paul, who has spent his life in Brighton & Hove, has been involved in education for many years and is a Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham. With a keen interest in the arts, he was a volunteer researcher at Charleston, Firle, and at Farleys House & Gallery, Chiddingly.
He is Chair of the Dervia Foundation and is a supporter of local charities, including Kennedy Street Recovery, and is an Ambassador for The Martlets Hospice.
Davinder Dhillon OBE DL - Brighton and Hove
For more than 20 years, Davinder has organised the annual Chattri memorial service for World War I Indian soldiers who died in Brighton and Hove.
He is married to Wendy, lives in Hove and is a retired teacher. For many years he has used his skills to reinforce the cultural and ethnic diversity of the city and the county.
Tanjit Dosanjh OBE DL - Brighton and Hove
Tanjit is a qualified optometrist and set up The Prison Opticians Trust to train prisoners as optical advisors. The trust now provides optometry into over 60 prisons.
He has started a new brand, Liberty Glasses, which will create more jobs for prisoners and which opened its first shop at the University of Sussex.
Reverend Canon Judith Egar DL - Lewes
Judith worked for 30 years as a solicitor for the Church of England. She is currently Associate Vicar at St Anne’s Church, Lewes. She has served as Rural Dean of Lewes and Seaford and is an honorary Canon of Chichester Cathedral.
Lucy Firrell DBE DL - Mayfield
Lucy has lived in Sussex all her life and has a special interest in local community services. She was a governor at Mayfield CEP and then at Heathfield CC, is a trustee with Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Services (MAYFACS).
Lucinda Fraser DL - Robertsbridge
Lucinda is currently High Sheriff for 2024 to 2025.
Lucinda runs a vineyard in East Sussex with her husband. Previously she formed a campaign organisation, Mountfield Heritage Group.
She has undertaken and supported numerous fundraising campaigns, including St Michael's Hospice for a new MRI scanner, Conquest Hospital in Hastings and other organisations locally.
Roger French OBE DL - Brighton and Hove
Roger French was awarded a Freeman of Brighton and Hove on his retirement as managing director of the city’s bus company in 2013 and has continued to keep a close association with the city and its activities since then.
Carola Godman Irvine DL - Wivelsfield
Carola is a farmer who manages Ote Hall Farms. She is a campaigner and columnist writing for local papers on farming and countryside matters.She previously worked in the office of TRH the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Her former roles include chairman - South of England Agricultural Society, chairman - Dr Jan De Winter Cancer Prevention Foundation, trustee - Henry Smith Charity, and chairman - A Taste of Sussex.
Amanda Hamblin DL - Heathfield
Amanda has volunteered within the criminal justice system for many years. She delivered cognitive behaviour courses, then became a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Lewes.
She is now a Restorative Justice Facilitator. She is patron of Homecall and a former High Sheriff of East Sussex.
Violet Hancock DL - Ringmer
Violet is a retired company director who was High Sheriff for East Sussex from 2019 to 2020.
Violet is chair of the East Sussex Women of the Year Lunch and the East Sussex High Sheriff’s Consultative Panel. She is a trustee of Sussex Pathways, a criminal justice charity, and the South Downs Summer Music Festival; and a patron of the Sussex Community Development Association and the Sussex Heritage Trust.
Miles Jenner DL - Lewes
Miles is Head Brewer and Joint Managing Director of Harvey & Son. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Court Assistant at the Worshipful Company of Brewers. Well known for his support of local charities, education and local business, he is president of the Lewes Little Theatre Company and was High Sheriff from 2021 to 2022.
Sarah Kowitz DL - Hastings
Sarah is well known for her support across the local community. In particular, fundraising for voluntary and charity groups and her work with education, the visual arts, and supporting music performance in Hastings.
She is an active board member of Sussex’s newest art museum, Hastings Contemporary, and has commissioned sculpture in support of the town.
Brigadier Anthony T Lamb MBE DL VR - Eastbourne
Anthony is an Army Reserves Brigadier. He is currently Deputy Head and CCF Contingent Commander at Eastbourne College and Head of Youth and Cadets for the MoD.
He previously held several senior national and Sussex-based Army Reserve and Army Cadet Force positions.
Anthony lives in Eastbourne with his wife Linda and two daughters.
Alan McCarthy MBE DL - Brighton and Hove
Alan is a retired chartered civil engineer with 40 years’ executive experience in the public sector, including five years as chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council. On retirement from the City Council in 2009 he embarked on a non-executive career predominantly in the NHS. He retired as chair of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust in July 2024, having previously been chair of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust. He was awarded an MBE for services to the NHS in 2020.
Juliet Olsworth-Peter JP DL - Brighton & Hove
Juliet was born in Brighton and raised in a theatrical family. She built a career in the educational world and served as a magistrate for 30 years.
Juliet was High Sheriff of East Sussex from 2015 to 2016 and has chaired numerous boards, most recently chairing Martlets Hospice for eight years. Currently she is Patron of Children with Cancer Fund, Vice-President of Ditchling Royal British Legion and is President of the newly formed Sussex Magistrates’ Association.
Kathy Sambrook OBE DL - Uckfield
Kathy was a founding member of Friends of Sussex Hospices and chaired from 2001 until 2021. She has also been a trustee for Martlets Hospice, Sussex Community Foundation, and The Sussex Beacon.
Kathy was High Sheriff from 2011 to 2012. She received an OBE in 2015 for services to charity and the community, particularly to hospice care. She previously worked for a US investment bank.
Magnus Spence DL - Ticehurst
Magnus is a trustee of St Michael's Hospice in Hastings and a Governor of Knole Academy in Sevenoaks. Magnus has worked in the asset management industry for over 30 years and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Magnus lives with his wife, Liz, in Ticehurst and organises the Wardsbrook Concert series from their home each year. The proceeds from the concerts are donated to St Michael's Hospice.
Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE DL - Hastings
Debbie Scott was formerly chief executive of a national employment charity, Tomorrow’s People, that helps disadvantaged people to get and keep a job.
She became a member of House of Lords in July 2010, and her particular interest is in welfare to work.
Derek Stevens DL - Bexhill and Rother
Prior to retirement, Derek was chief executive of Rother District Council. Married to Lesley and with daughters Sophie and Amy, he is a former international athlete and is involved in a number of voluntary and other groups across the county.
Professor Nick Webborn CBE DL - Eastbourne
Nick is a world-leading expert in Paralympic sport and a former national wheelchair tennis player.
He was a Clinical Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton, and Chief Medical Officer for the London 2012 Paralympics and the Invictus Games in 2014. Nick is the chair of the British Paralympic Association.
Christopher Whittick DL - Lewes
After 42 years at East Sussex Record Office, Christopher Whittick is now a freelance archivist, researcher and editor. In 2016 he completed a catalogue of the Battle Abbey archive at the Huntington Library, California. He is a vice-president of the Sussex Archaeological Society and chairman of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust.
Giles York QPM DL - Wivelsfield Green
Giles started his career as a police officer in Kent in 1990. In 2015, he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service including with South Wales Police and as Chief Constable of Sussex Police for six years.
After retiring from policing in 2020, he became a non-executive director for an NHS Trust. He also provides professional consultancy and works in voluntary roles to mentor charity chief executives and reduce homelessness.
Retired Deputy Lieutenants
- Michael Ann Esq OBE DL – Lewes
- Charles Anson Esq CVO, DL – Alfriston
- Julian Avery Esq DL – Etchingham
- Colonel John Barkshire CBE TD JP DL – Arundel
- Quinton Barry Esq DL - Shoreham-by-Sea
- His Hon Judge Richard Brown DL – Hove
- Hugh Burnett Esq OBE DL – Hove
- Sir Edward Cazalet DL – Plumpton
- Michael Chowen CBE DL – Brighton
- Mrs Elspeth Clarkson DL – Steyning
- Baroness Cumberlege CBE DL – Newick
- Earl De La Warr DL - Crowborough
- Mrs Phyllida Fane de Salis DL – Mayfield
- Sir Peter Field KCVO DL – Brighton
- Baroness (Janet) Fookes DBE DL- St Leonards-on-Sea
- Michael Foster Esq DL
- The Rt. Hon. Viscount Gage DL – Firle
- Christopher John McLean Gebbie OBE DL
- Christopher Hall Esq OBE TD DL – Tunbridge Wells
- Miss Veronica Hamilton-Deeley LLB DL – Lewes
- Mrs Verena Hanbury MBE DL – Chailey
- Dr Glynn Jones Esq OBE DL – Hassocks
- Jenny KilBride Roberts MBE DL - Ditchling
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord and Lady Lloyd – Polegate
- James (Jim) May DL - Brighton and Hove
- Keith Millar Esq DL – London
- Mrs Ann Moore BA DL – Battle
- Major General John Moore-Bick CBE DL - Ewhurst Green
- Colonel MJN (Nick) Richards DL – Hailsham
- Michael Rudman Esq DL
- Mrs James (Angela) Sellick DL – Ticehurst
- William (Bill) Shelford Esq DL – Chailey
- Mrs Marion Shepherd DL – Horam
- Prof. Alasdair Smith DL - Lewes
- John Smith DL - Eastbourne
- Colonel David Stevens OBE TD DL – Brighton
- Sara Stonor DL - Robertsbridge
- David Tate Esq OBE DL – Crowborough
- Mrs Shirley Whitley DL – Lewes
- Mrs Chantal Wilson DL – Crowborough
- Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Woodhead KCB DL – Brighton
- Dr Richard Wray DL – Hastings