Vice Admiral Ian Warren Knox AC (born 9 February 1933) is a retired senior officer of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN). In a 42-year career, Knox commanded HMA Ships ''Torrens'', ''Hobart'' and ''Melbourne'', briefly served as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, and was Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet from 1985 to 1987. His career culminated with his appointment as

Vice Chief of the Defence Force The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements. Vice Admiral David Johnston, the incumbent VCDF, has ...

in January 1987; a position he held until his retirement in September 1989.

Early life

Knox was born in

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

, New South Wales, on 9 February 1933 to Robert George Knox and his wife Kathleen Lily. He was educated at Wilcannia Primary School and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

. In 1947 he joined the Royal Australian Naval College at as a 13 year old

cadet midshipman Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

. The class was to prove a high achieving one. Out of the 24 cadets, three were to retire from the RAN as

commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

, one ( Sir David Martin) as a

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 regarde ...

and later

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, Knox as a vice admiral and Vice Chief of the Defence Force, while a sixth, Mike Hudson, became an

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, ...

and Chief of Naval Staff.

Naval career

Commissioned in October 1950, Knox received further training ashore and at sea in both Australia and the United Kingdom. He married on 1 December 1956, to Margaret, with whom he has two sons and a daughter. The following year, he completed the Long Course in Torpedo and Anti-Submarine Warfare in the United Kingdom, being awarded the Ogilvy Medal as

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

of the course. In 1960, he was posted to the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

as the Anti-Submarine Warfare Project Officer. In this role, he assisted in the development of the Ikara ASW Guided Missile System. Service as a staff officer with the Navy Office in Canberra followed from 1964. In 1966 Knox was appointed

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. He served two years with ''Perth'', which included a seven-month deployment to Vietnamese waters from September 1967 to April 1968. Promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

later that year, Knox was appointed Director Underwater Weapons at the Navy Office before being made the inaugural commanding officer of the

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

in 1971. From 1972 to 1973, he attended the United States

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, following which he was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and appointed commanding officer of the guided missile destroyer . His next posting, in 1975, was to the Strategic and International Policy Division in the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

. His service in this role occasioned attendance at the third through to the sixth sessions of the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference as part of the Australian delegation. In 1979, Knox returned to the United Kingdom to attend the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. On graduation, he was promoted

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

and appointed to command the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. He was next posted as Director-General Naval Plans and Policy in 1981. In 1982 Knox was promoted to

and appointed Chief of Naval Operational Requirements and Plans. He briefly served as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff in 1984, before he was made Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet in 1985. In the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

list that year, Knox was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for his service in the former two positions. After almost two years in command of the Fleet, Knox was posted to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

as Assistant Chief of Defence Force (Policy) in January 1987 for six months, before he was promoted vice admiral and appointed

(VCDF) in succession to Air Marshal Ray Funnell, who had been appointed Chief of the Air Staff. From 1988, Knox occupied a dual role as VCDF and Commander Joint Forces Australia. Advanced to a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in July 1989, Knox retired from the RAN that September after 42 years of service and was succeeded as VCDF by Vice Admiral

Alan Beaumont Admiral Alan Lee Beaumont, (24 December 1934 – 21 September 2004) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Defence Force from 1993 to 1995. Early life Alan Lee Beaumont ...

Retirement

Knox has served on the board of directors of several companies since his retirement from the RAN, including Australia Sonar Systems, Oceanic Capital Corporation and

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Houst ...

Pacific Holdings. Recreationally, he enjoys tennis, traveling and, having obtained a

pilot's license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a specifi ...

in 1988, flying. He is also an active

Legatee A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person ...

in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

area, having joined the organisation in 2000. Knox lives in

Lavender Bay Lavender Bay is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lavender Bay is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. The s ...

, a harbourside suburb on Sydney's North Shore, as at 2016.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Ian (admiral) 1933 births Military personnel from New South Wales Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Australian aviators Australian military personnel of the Malayan Emergency Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Companions of the Order of Australia Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Living people Naval War College alumni People educated at Prince Alfred College Royal Australian Navy admirals Vice Chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia)