Vice Admiral Sir John Michael Villiers, (22 June 1907 – 1 January 1990) was a

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 ...

officer who went on to be

Fourth Sea Lord The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom the post is currently known ...

Early life

Villiers was the third son of Rear Admiral Edward Cecil Villiers (grandson of

Thomas Hyde Villiers Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

), and Anne Gordon Haynes-Smith, daughter of Sir

William Frederick Haynes Smith Sir William Frederick Haynes-Smith (26 June 1839 – 18 December 1928) was an English colonial administrator in the British Empire. Early life Haynes-Smith was born in Blackheath, Kent on 26 June 1839. He was the fifth son of John Lucie Smith ...

, governor of Cyprus. He was and educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and the

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Naval career

Villiers joined the

in 1935.Sir John Michael Villiers
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives and then went onto the staff of the Experimental Signal School at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1936. He served in 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 opposi ...

as Squadron Signal Officer and Flag Lieutenant to the Admiral commanding the Battle Cruiser Squadron and then transferred to the battleship in which he took part in the Norwegian campaign. He joined the staff of Admiral

Sir Bertram Ramsay Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay, KCB, KBE, MVO (20 January 1883 – 2 January 1945) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the destroyer during the First World War. In the Second World War, he was responsible for the Dunkirk evacuation in ...

for the planning of the invasion of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1943 and then commanded the destroyer in 1945. After the war he commanded on the West Indies Station from 1946 and then joined the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Staff College from 1948. He was appointed Assistant Director of Plans at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

in 1950 and Queen's Harbourmaster at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1952. He commanded the aircraft carrier from 1954 and then became Chief of the Naval Staff for the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

in 1958. His last appointment was as Fourth Sea Lord and Vice Controller of the Navy in 1960 before he retired in 1964.

Later life

After retiring from the Navy, he succeeded Sir George Erskine to become

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey (, Jèrriais: ''Gouvèrneux d'Jèrri'') is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The Lieutenant Governor has his own flag in Jersey, ...

. He served three years until he was succeeded by Sir John Davis in 1969.

Personal life

On 3 November 1936, Sir Michael married Rosemary Salwey Grissell, daughter of Lt.-Col. Bernard Salwey Grissell, who was killed in Palestine in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and the former Olive Mary Wood. Rosemary's sister, Veronica, a historian, was the wife of Lt-Col W. H. "Tich" Bamfield. Together, they had two daughters: * Valerie Anne Villiers (b. 1940), who married Vice Admiral Sir John Morrison Webster. * Camilla Rosemary Villiers (b. 1943), who married Richard Weston Warner, son of John Weston Warner. Sir Michael died on 1 January 1990 in

Melton, Suffolk Melton is a village in Suffolk, England, located approximately one mile north east of Woodbridge. The 2001 census recorded a population of 3,718, the population increasing to 3,741 at the 2011 Census. The village is served by Melton railway sta ...

."Vice-Admiral Sir Michael Villiers", ''The Times'' (London), 10 January 1990, p. 14.

References

External links

Sir (John) Michael Villiers (1907-1990), Vice-Admiral
at the National Portrait Gallery, London
The Papers of Vice Admiral Sir (John) Michael Villiers
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Villiers, Michael 1907 births 1990 deaths Michael People educated at Oundle School Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy officers of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Lords of the Admiralty Governors of Jersey