The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is a statutory position in the British Armed Forces usually held by a four star admiral. As the highest-ranking officer to serve in the Royal Navy,the chief is the principal military advisor on matters pertaining to the navy and a deputy to the Secretary of State for Defence. In a separate capacity,the CNS is a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and,thereby,a military advisor to the National Security Council,the prime minister and the monarch. The First Sea Lord is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty of the Royal Navy unless the Chief of the Defence Staff is a naval officer. Admiral Ben Key was appointed First Sea Lord in November 2021.
The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments. Originally titled Second Naval Lord in 1830,the post was restyled Second Sea Lord in 1904. They are based at Navy Command,Headquarters.
Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce,Baron Boyce,was a British Royal Navy officer who also sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords until his death in November 2022.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir David Benjamin Bathurst,is a former Royal Navy officer. He is the only living person,apart from King Charles III,holding the rank of Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy since the death of Lord Boyce. After training as a pilot and qualifying as a helicopter instructor,Bathurst commanded a Naval Air Squadron and then two frigates before achieving higher command in the navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1993 to 1995:in that capacity he advised the British Government on the deployment of Naval Support including Sea Harriers during the Bosnian War.
Admiral of the Fleet John David Elliott Fieldhouse,Baron Fieldhouse,was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded five submarines and a frigate before achieving higher command from the 1970s. Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine forces in April 1982,Fieldhouse was appointed Commander of the Task Force given responsibility for "Operation Corporate",the mission to recover the Falkland Islands. The campaign ended in the surrender of Argentine forces in June 1982. He became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in December that year and,in that role,persuaded the British Government to fund the replacement of ships lost in the Falklands War. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff from 1985 until his retirement in 1988.
Admiral Sir John David Luce,was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as a submarine commander before taking part in the Dieppe Raid and becoming Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces for the Normandy landings. He also commanded a cruiser during the Korean War. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the mid-1960s and in that role resigned from the Royal Navy along with Navy Minister Christopher Mayhew in March 1966 in protest over the decision by the Labour Secretary of State for Defence,Denis Healey,to cancel the CVA-01 aircraft carrier programme.
Vice Admiral Sir Roy Russell Dowling,was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He served as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS),the RAN's highest-ranking position,from 1955 until 1959,and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC),forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force,from 1959 until 1961.
Stubbington House School was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school,originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington,around 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy". The school was relocated to Ascot in 1962,merging with Earleywood School,and it closed in 1997.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope,is a retired Royal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander,he commanded a frigate and then commanded an aircraft carrier on operational patrol off Sierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff,the professional head of the Royal Navy,from July 2009 to April 2013. In this role he advised the British Government on the deployment of naval forces during operations around Libya. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.
Vice Admiral Sir Hugh David Stevenson was a senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy,serving as Chief of Naval Staff from 1973 to 1976.
Admiral Sir George Michael Zambellas,is a retired Royal Navy officer. He was the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from April 2013 until he handed over duties to Admiral Sir Philip Jones in April 2016.
Vice-Admiral Sir Norman Egbert Denning,was a Royal Naval and Intelligence Officer at the Admiralty and Defence Intelligence Staff who served as Director of Naval Planning from 1945 to 1956,Director of Naval Intelligence from 1960 to 1964,and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff for Intelligence from 1964 to 1965. Denning was a prominent and pioneering figure in naval and military intelligence and established a successful career during and after the Second World War,holding many senior ranking staff positions.
The Navy Command is the current headquarters body of the Royal Navy,and as of 2012 its major organisational grouping. It is a hybrid,neither a command,nor simply an installation. Royal Navy official writings describe Navy Command Headquarters both as a physical site,on Whale Island,Hampshire,a collective formed of the most senior RN officers,and as a budgetary grouping.
Vice Admiral Sir David George Steel,is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord between 2012 and 2015. He assumed the office of Governor of Gibraltar on 11 June 2020.
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson,is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet.
Admiral Sir Philip Andrew Jones,is a retired senior Royal Navy officer. After service in the South Atlantic in 1982 during the Falklands War,he commanded the frigates HMS Beaver and HMS Coventry. He went on to be Flag Officer,Scotland,Northern England and Northern Ireland,Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff before being appointed Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. Jones served as First Sea Lord from April 2016 to June 2019.
Vice Admiral Sir Ian Fergus Corder,is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as UK Military Representative to NATO,and was the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey from 2016 to 2021.
The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King,and were published in supplements to the London Gazette of 2 June 1950 for the British Empire,Australia,Ceylon and New Zealand.
Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin,is a senior Royal Navy officer. Since November 2021,he is the 24th Chief of the Defence Staff,the professional head of the British Armed Forces,succeeding General Sir Nicholas Carter. Radakin also served as First Sea Lord,the professional head of the Naval Service from June 2019 to November 2021. He was Chief of Staff,Joint Forces Command,from 2016 to 2018,and the Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff from 2018 to 2019. He was appointed Lord High Constable of England in 2023,and in that role,took part in the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
