Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Leslie Derek Empson, (29 October 1918 – 20 September 1997) was a senior officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

who served as

Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command Naval Home Command administered training and garrison functions for the Royal Navy from 1969-2012. Its commander was Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). History As the Royal Navy's size decreased during the Cold War, commands wer ...

from 1974 to 1975.

Naval career

Educated at

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational independent school in the British public school tradition, for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson. Over ...

, Empson joined the

at as a pilot 1940.Sir Leslie Derek Empson
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Empson was appointed Naval Assistant to the

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

in 1957 and then became

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of in 1963. He went on to be

Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships (FOCAS) was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1970 to 1979. However, its antecedents date to 1931. A Flag Officer with specific responsibilities for command of aircraft carriers within the Roy ...

in 1967 and then Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Operations and Air) in 1968. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet in 1969 and

Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) 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 establish ...

in 1971. Finally he became

and Flag Officer Portsmouth Area in 1974. He retired in 1975.

Later life

In retirement, Empson worked as a consultant for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. He also held the posts of

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

and then

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in th ...

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Empson, Derek 1918 births 1997 deaths People educated at Eastbourne College Fleet Air Arm aviators Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy admirals Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II British World War II pilots Military personnel from Lincolnshire