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 ...

Matthew John Parr, (born 20 August 1962) is a retired

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 ...

officer who has served as Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines and is currently an Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Early life and education

Parr was born on 20 August 1962 in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, England. He studied geography at

Hatfield College, Durham , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(BSc) degree in 1983.

Naval career

Parr joined the Royal Navy in 1984.Gibraltar's New CBF – CDRE M J Parr
Vox, 29 April 2007 He completed the

Submarine Command Course The Submarine Command Course (SMCC), previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course (COQC), and informally known as The Perisher is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine. Created by the Royal ...

in 1993 and then became Executive Officer of the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

. He became an Operations Officer at

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headquar ...

in Northwood in 1995 and was then given command of the submarine in 1997. Parr became Commanding Officer of the frigate as well as Captain of the

6th Frigate Squadron The 6th Frigate Squadron was an administrative unit of the Royal Navy from 1950 to 2002. History During its existence, the squadron included , Type 15, , , , and Type 23 frigates. Ships from the squadron participated in the Coronation Fleet ...

in 2001, Deputy Flag Officer Sea Training at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 2003 and then returned to Northwood to join the Fleet Operations in 2005. He went on to be Commander,

British Forces Gibraltar British Forces Gibraltar is the British Armed Forces stationed in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is used primarily as a training area, thanks to its good climate and rocky terrain, and as a stopover for aircraft and ship ...

in May 2007,Senior Royal Navy appointments
Director of Operational Capability at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in March 2009,Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments
and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff in December 2010. He became

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

in December 2011, which was re-designated

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

in April 2012, and Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines in May 2013. Parr retired in April 2016. Parr was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

On leaving the navy, Parr was appointed to

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

(HMIC). He has additionally been an HM Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services since 2017. In June 2022, after the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

was placed in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

by HMIC, Parr wrote to

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Stephen House to outline "substantial and persistent concerns" regarding the force's performance, including its "inexperienced" workforce, its backlog of

online child abuse Online child abuse is a unique form of child abuse also known as “Cyber Molestation” due to its virtual, distanced, and anonymous nature. Such abuse may not happen face-to-face, nor does it necessarily require physical contact. However, onlin ...

cases, the stop and search of the athlete

Bianca Williams Bianca Williams (born 18 December 1993) is a British athlete. She competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze medals in the 200 m, and in the 4 × 100 m relay. She has also won two medals as part of th ...

, the strip-searching of children, the

murder of Sarah Everard On the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common. She was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police offic ...

, and the force's approach to internal

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Matthew Royal Navy rear admirals Living people 1962 births Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Companions of the Order of the Bath