Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom)

Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
	Ensign of the Royal Navy
	Department of the Admiralty, Ministry of Defence
Abbreviation	V.C.N.S.
Member of	Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Board
Reports to	Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
Nominator	First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Defence
Appointer	Prime Minister; Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length	Not fixed (typically 2–3 years)
Formation	1941
First holder	Sir Henry Moore
Final holder	Sir Peter Stanford
Abolished	1985

The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) ^[1] was a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a three-star rank and had a NATO ranking code of OF-8 that existed from 1941 to 1985 and was a member of the Admiralty Naval Staff.

History

In October 1941 the post of Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff was created when the Admiralty abolished the title of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in line with changes that were also taking place within the army and air force. It was essentially the same role as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff: the post holder initially was the operational head of the Royal Navy^[2] and reported directly to the First Sea Lord.

In 1946 the office of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was revived and the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from that point reported to the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.

Following internal re-structuring within the Ministry of Defence the position of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff was abolished in 1985.

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff included:^[3]
Note: reports to the First Sea Lord from 1941 to 1946 ^[4] then reports to the DCNS from 1947 until 1985

No.	Chief-of-Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1	Moore, MooreVice Admiral Sir Henry Ruthven Moore	21 October 1941	7 June 1943	1 year, 7 months	^[5]
2	Syfret, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Edward Neville Syfret	8 June 1943	October 1945	2 years, 3 months	^[6]
3	McGrigor, RhoderickVice Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor	October 1945	October 1947	2 years	^[7]
4	Edelsten, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Edelsten	October 1947	November 1949	2 years, 1 month	^[8]
5	Creasy, GeorgeVice Admiral Sir George Creasy	November 1949	October 1951	1 year, 11 months	^[9]
6	Grantham, GuyVice Admiral Sir Guy Grantham	October 1951	April 1954	2 years, 6 months	^[10]
7	Davis, WilliamVice Admiral Sir William Davis	April 1954	May 1957	3 years, 1 month	^[11]
8	John, CasparVice Admiral Sir Caspar John	May 1957	February 1960	2 years, 9 months	^[12]
9	Couchman, CouchmanVice Admiral Sir Walter Couchman	February 1960	November 1960	9 months	^[3]
10	Begg, VarylVice Admiral Sir Varyl Begg	January 1961	February 1963	2 years, 1 month	^[13]
11	Frewen, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Frewen	February 1963	April 1965	2 years, 2 months	^[3]
12	Bush, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Bush	April 1965	August 1967	2 years, 4 months	^[14]
13	Hill, PeterVice Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton	August 1967	December 1968	1 year, 4 months	^[3]
14	Ashmore, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore	December 1968	January 1971	2 years, 1 month	^[15]
15	Ashmore, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Terence Lewin	January 1971	October 1973	2 years, 9 months	^[3]
16	Treacher, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Treacher	October 1973	April 1975	1 year, 6 months	^[3]
17	Lygo, RaymondVice Admiral Sir Raymond Lygo	April 1975	January 1978	2 years, 9 months	^[16]
18	Morton, AnthonyVice Admiral Sir Anthony Morton	January 1978	July 1980	2 years, 6 months	^[3]
19	Staveley, WilliamVice Admiral Sir William Staveley	July 1980	October 1982	2 years, 3 months	^[3]
20	Stanford, PeterVice Admiral Sir Peter Stanford	October 1982	October 1985	3 years	^[17]

References

^ Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781848320789.
^ Callo, Joseph F.; Wilson, Alastair (2004). Who's Who in Naval History: From 1550 to the present. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 9781134395392.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy - Senior Appointments" (PDF). gulabin.com. Gulabin, p.14 2010-2014. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
^ Axelrod, Alan (2007). Encyclopedia of World War II 2-Volume Set. New York: Infobase Pub. p. 402. ISBN 9780816060221.
^ Alexiades, Platon (2015). Target Corinth Canal: 1940-1944. Pen and Sword. p. 88. ISBN 9781473827561.
^ Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the world : a biographical dictionary, 1500 to the present. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 270. ISBN 9780786438099.
^ Rose, editor, Susan (2008). The naval miscellany. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 8. ISBN 9780754664314. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Office, H.M. Stationery (1950). The British Imperial Calendar and Civil Service List ... Or: General Register of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Its Colonies. Warrington & Company. p. 84.
^ Heathcote, T. A. (2002). British Admirals of the Fleet: 1734-1995. Pen and Sword. p. 56. ISBN 9781473812703.
^ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (12 October 2007). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Parts 1-2. Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd., 1967, Original University of Michigan. p. 534.
^ Kennedy, Greg (2007). Imperial Defence: The Old World Order, 1856–1956. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 9781134252466.
^ Stewart, William (Sep 28, 2009). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present. McFarland. p. 182. ISBN 9780786482887.
^ Cook, Chris (2012). The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources since 1945. Routledge. p. 16. ISBN 9781136509612.
^ "Admiral Sir John Bush: Naval officer who saw distinguished action in". The Independent. The Independent, 10 July 2013. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17.
^ Roberts, John (2009). Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 9781848320437.
^ Adeney, Martin (5 April 2012). "Sir Raymond Lygo obituary". The Guardian. The Guardian, 5 April 2012.
^ "The Naval Review" (PDF). naval-review.com. Naval Review Society, Vol 79, No.3, p.187, July 1991.

General references

Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Vice Chief of Naval Staff, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.
http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/Assistant Chief of Naval Staff
http://www.gulabin.com/Royal Navy - Senior Appointments

External links

[1] Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781848320789.

[2] Callo, Joseph F.; Wilson, Alastair (2004). Who's Who in Naval History: From 1550 to the present. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 9781134395392.

[mackie-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy - Senior Appointments" (PDF). gulabin.com. Gulabin, p.14 2010-2014. Retrieved 23 November 2016.

[4] Axelrod, Alan (2007). Encyclopedia of World War II 2-Volume Set. New York: Infobase Pub. p. 402. ISBN 9780816060221.

[5] Alexiades, Platon (2015). Target Corinth Canal: 1940-1944. Pen and Sword. p. 88. ISBN 9781473827561.

[6] Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the world : a biographical dictionary, 1500 to the present. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 270. ISBN 9780786438099.

[7] Rose, editor, Susan (2008). The naval miscellany. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 8. ISBN 9780754664314. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[8] Office, H.M. Stationery (1950). The British Imperial Calendar and Civil Service List ... Or: General Register of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Its Colonies. Warrington & Company. p. 84.

[9] Heathcote, T. A. (2002). British Admirals of the Fleet: 1734-1995. Pen and Sword. p. 56. ISBN 9781473812703.

[10] Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (12 October 2007). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Parts 1-2. Dod's Parliamentary Companion Ltd., 1967, Original University of Michigan. p. 534.

[11] Kennedy, Greg (2007). Imperial Defence: The Old World Order, 1856–1956. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 9781134252466.

[12] Stewart, William (Sep 28, 2009). Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present. McFarland. p. 182. ISBN 9780786482887.

[13] Cook, Chris (2012). The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources since 1945. Routledge. p. 16. ISBN 9781136509612.

[14] "Admiral Sir John Bush: Naval officer who saw distinguished action in". The Independent. The Independent, 10 July 2013. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17.

[15] Roberts, John (2009). Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 9781848320437.

[16] Adeney, Martin (5 April 2012). "Sir Raymond Lygo obituary". The Guardian. The Guardian, 5 April 2012.

[17] "The Naval Review" (PDF). naval-review.com. Naval Review Society, Vol 79, No.3, p.187, July 1991.

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v t e Board of Admiralty
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Staff Naval Lords	Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (1917–1964) Deputy First Sea Lord (1917–1919) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (1917–1964) Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (1941–1964) Deputy First Sea Lord (1942–1946)
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History

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff

See also

References

General references

External links