Urch was commissioned into the
Royal Engineers on 4 June 1984. In 2001, as officer commanding 20 Field Squadron, he led the construction of two schools, a new hangar at
Price Barracks and a jungle research station in
Belize. He became Commanding Officer of
22 Engineer Regiment in 2004, and was deployed to
Iraq later that year. He went on to be Commander of
1st Mechanised Brigade in December 2008, Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations at the
Permanent Joint Headquarters in
Northwood in December 2010, and Chief of Staff for
Land Forces in October 2012. After that he became General Officer Commanding
Force Troops Command in February 2015; he was promoted to
lieutenant-general and became Commander
Home Command in June 2018. He retired in June 2021. He was a Colonel Commandant in the Royal Engineers until October 2023, and
Chief Royal Engineer from 14 September 2018 until 1 January 2024. Urch was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the
2011 Birthday Honours, and
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the
2021 New Year Honours. ==References==