Admiral of the Fleet Peter John Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating on the Western Approaches and in the North Sea taking part in the Norwegian Campaign, then in a cruiser taking part in the Arctic convoys and finally in a battleship operating in the Eastern Fleet. After the War he commanded a destroyer and then an aircraft carrier. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff and then Chief of the Defence Staff in early 1970s. In the latter role he gave the final commitment to Project Chevaline, the Polaris missile improvement programme. He went on to be Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
Admiral Sir James Michael Burnell-Nugent, is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 2005 to 2007.
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 acting Chief of the Defence Staff, serving briefly in a caretaker capacity following the death of his predecessor.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Doveton Minet Staveley was a Royal Navy officer. Staveley saw service as a minesweeper commander on coastal patrol during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation before commanding a frigate and then an aircraft carrier and ultimately achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the late 1980s. In that role he fought hard for a fleet large enough to meet NATO commitments.
Vice Admiral Sir Adrian James Johns, is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy, serving as Second Sea Lord between 2005 and 2008. He was the Governor of Gibraltar between 2009 and 2013.
Admiral Sir George Michael Zambellas, is a British retired Royal Navy officer. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from April 2013 before handing over duties to Admiral Sir Philip Jones in April 2016.
Vice Admiral Sir Alan Michael Massey, KCB, CBE is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as the Second Sea Lord.
Vice Admiral Sir Peter William Gretton was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was active in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, and was a successful convoy escort commander. He eventually rose to become Fifth Sea Lord and retired as a vice admiral before entering university life as a bursar and academic.
Admiral Sir Eric James Patrick Brind, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as the first Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1951 to 1953.
Admiral Sir Michael Henry Gordon Layard, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord from 1992 to 1995.
Admiral Sir Leslie Derek Empson, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command from 1974 to 1975.
Admiral Sir Brian Thomas Brown, was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1988 to 1991.
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.
Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin, is a senior Royal Navy officer. He was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces, in November 2021. Radakin was previously the 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.
Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas William Hine, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer. He served as Second Sea Lord from 2019 to 2022.
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.
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Andrew Magowan, is a senior Royal Marines officer who serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since May 2022. He previously served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.
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.
Admiral Sir Keith Edward Blount, is a senior Royal Navy officer and pilot, who since July 2023 serves as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He was Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and head of the Fleet Air Arm from 2015 to 2019. He served as Commander Allied Maritime Command, NATO, from 2019 to 2023.
