James Morse | |
|---|---|
 Rear Admiral Morse in 2015 | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1982–2016 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | United Kingdom Task Group HMS Chatham HMS Norfolk HMS Sutherland HMS Dasher |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan Iraq War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath |
Rear Admiral James Anthony Morse, CB , is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Capability) and Controller of the Navy.
Morse was educated at the University of Bristol (BSc, 1985) and King's College London (MA International Relations, 2007). [1]
Morse joined the Royal Navy in 1982. [1] He was given command of the Bristol University Royal Naval Unit and then the patrol craft HMS Dasher in 1991. [1] After promotion to lieutenant-commander on 1 January 1993, [2] he attended the principal warfare officer's course in 1993, and became operations officer in the frigate HMS Monmouth. [1] Having attended the specialist navigating officer's course, he became squadron navigator of the Fourth Frigate Squadron and was then given command of the frigate HMS Sutherland in 1997. [1] He joined the Permanent Joint Headquarters in 1999 and was then made commanding officer of the frigate HMS Norfolk before becoming executive officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in November 2001. [1] He went on to be Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord in 2004 and, after attending the Joint Services Command and Staff College, he became commanding officer of the frigate HMS Chatham in August 2005. [1]
Morse became Director of Force Development in September 2007, Commander United Kingdom Task Group in December 2008 and liaison officer to the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2011. [1] He went on to be Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College with the rank of rear-admiral on 28 August 2012, [3] [4] and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Capability) and Controller of the Navy in September 2014. [5] Morse handed over his duty to Rear Admiral Paul Bennett on 23 May 2016, [6] and retired from the navy on 12 August 2016. [7]
Morse was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2016 New Year Honours. [8] He retired from the Royal Navy later that year and became President of the Rabdan Academy in Abu Dhabi in August 2016. [9]
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Le Fanu was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating in the Home Fleet during the Norwegian campaign and the Battle of the Mediterranean and then as gunnery officer in a battleship operating in the Eastern Fleet before becoming liaison officer between the British Pacific Fleet and the United States Third Fleet. After the War he commanded a frigate, a training establishment and an aircraft carrier. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1960s. In that role, in the face of economic difficulties, he worked hard to reshape the Navy as an anti-submarine force operating primarily in the Atlantic Ocean.
Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood Slater,, known as Jock Slater, is a retired Royal Navy officer. He commanded a minesweeper, a frigate and then a destroyer before taking over the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and then achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1995 to 1998: in that capacity he played a key role in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review carried out by the Labour Government that had come to power a year earlier.
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 of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He saw active service in the Second World War and later commanded two frigates before achieving high command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the mid-1970s and in that role he advised the incoming Labour government on a major defence review and on the implications of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff, serving briefly in a caretaker capacity following the death of his predecessor.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald was a senior Royal Navy officer. After training as a gunnery specialist, Oswald commanded a frigate and then a destroyer before achieving higher command in the navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the early 1990s. In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under the Options for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for the Gulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of the Women's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships.
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.
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.
Admiral Sir Peter Charles Abbott was a Royal Navy officer and Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom.
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 Duncan Laurence Potts, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Capability) and Controller of the Navy from 2013 to 2014, and as Director General of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom from September 2014 to 2018.
Rear Admiral Matthew John Parr, is a retired Royal Navy officer who has served as Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines and is currently an Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
Rear Admiral Alexander J. Burton is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Rear Admiral Surface Ships.
Admiral Sir Benjamin John Key, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He has served as First Sea Lord since November 2021. He has commanded HM Ships Sandown, Iron Duke and Lancaster, and deployed on operations to Kosovo and Iraq. He was appointed Fleet Commander in 2016, and the Chief of Joint Operations in 2019.
Vice Admiral Paul Martin Bennett, is a former senior Royal Navy officer.
Admiral Sir Timothy Peter Fraser, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from May 2019 to August 2022.
Rear Admiral Hugh Dominic Beard, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Third Sea Lord from 2018 to 2020, and as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff from 2020 to 2022.
Vice Admiral Andrew Paul Burns, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He has served as Fleet Commander since September 2021.
Vice Admiral Martin John Connell, is a senior Royal Navy officer currently serving as Second Sea Lord.
Rear Admiral James James Miles Parkin, is a senior Royal Navy officer.