Sir Peter Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 Brighton, Sussex |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1965–2003 |
| Rank | Vice admiral |
| Commands | Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Vice Admiral Sir Peter Spencer KCB (born 1947) is a Royal Navy officer who became Second Sea Lord.
Born in Brighton and educated at both Queens' College, Cambridge and Southampton University, Spencer was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1965. [1]
In 1992 he was appointed Director of Operational Requirements for the Royal Navy and in 1995 went on to be Director General Fleet Support for Operations and Plans. [1] In 1997 he became Director General Surface Ships and Controller of the Navy. [1]
In 2000 he became Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and in 2003 he became Chief of Defence Procurement. [1]
In retirement he became Chief Executive of Action for ME, a charity supporting people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. [2]
He is married to Lisa and they have four children. [1]
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty, who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty, rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department.
The Ministry of Defence is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer currently to 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.
The post of Controller of the Navy was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of the Third Naval Lord whose title then changed to Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1904 the title was changed again to Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1965 the office of the Third Sea Lord was abolished. The post-holder is responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy.
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.
The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is conducted by the Navy Board, which does not include any ministers.
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 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.
Peter Keith Levene, Baron Levene of Portsoken KStJ is a businessman who was chairman of Lloyd's of London from 2003 until 2011 and Lord Mayor of London from 1998 to 1999.
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 Michael Patrick Pollock, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who rose to become First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the early 1970s. In the Second World War, he was an officer on ships tasked with protecting convoys in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and was gunnery officer on the cruiser HMS Norfolk when she fought the German battleship Scharnhorst during the Battle of North Cape. He later commanded the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and hosted Ian Smith on HMS Tiger. In retirement, he held the position of King of Arms of the Order of the Bath and Gloucester King of Arms, with responsibility for heraldry in Wales.
Vice Admiral Sir Robert Walmsley, was a senior officer of the Royal Navy who served as Chief of Defence Procurement at the UK Ministry of Defence from 1996 to 2003.
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.
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.
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.
Rear Admiral Richard Frank Cheadle CB, DL is a former Royal Navy officer who went on to be Controller of the Navy.
Vice Admiral Sir David George Steel, is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord between 2012 and 2015. He served as Governor of Gibraltar from 2020 to 2024.
Vice Admiral Sir Simon Jonathan Woodcock, is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord from 2015 to 2018.
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.
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.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
