Vice-Admiral Sir Peter William Beckwith Ashmore (4 February 1921 – 31 July 2002) 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 F ...
officer. After retirement from the navy he became
Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...
to the
Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
.
Early life
Ashmore was the son of Vice-Admiral
Leslie Ashmore
Vice Admiral Leslie Haliburton Ashmore, (21 February 1893 – 10 January 1974) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet from 1945 to 1947.
Naval career
Ashmore joined the Royal Navy in 1906 and was promo ...
: he was educated at
Yardley Court
Yardley Court is an independent day preparatory school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1898 by Mr and Mrs A.L.Bickmore. It now forms part of Somerhill, a public school in the British sense of the term.
There are currently around ...
and the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
; he joined 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 ...
in 1938.
Naval career
On graduation from Dartmouth, Ashmore 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 opposin ...
in the destroyer
HMS ''Kipling'' in which he commanded the ship's guns during an operation to rescue survivors from two other British ships off
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
in May 1941.
After the War he became Deputy Director of the
Royal Navy Staff College at
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
in 1957, Captain (Frigates) of the
Dartmouth Training Squadron in 1960 and a member of the Plans Division 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 1963.
[ He went on to be Flag Officer, ]Admiralty Interview Board
The Admiralty Interview Board (AIB)
is an assessment centre, tracing its roots to 1903, that is used by the Naval Service as part of the officer selection process for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, a ...
in 1966, Chief of Staff of the Western Fleet
The Red Sea Fleet Command or officially Western Fleet (WF), also called ''" West Coast Fleet ",'' is a regional naval fleet and one of the two main formations of the Saudi Arabian Navy, with headquarters at Royal Naval Base at Jeddah, Western Pr ...
and to NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic in 1967 and Chief of the Allied Staff at Headquarters Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe
Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (NAVSOUTH) was a Component Command in NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH).
Between 1951 and 1953, after the establishment of AFSOUTH, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe, initially Admi ...
in 1970 before he retired in 1972.[
In retirement Ashmore was ]Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...
to the Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
.[ His elder brother was Admiral Sir ]Edward Ashmore
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, (11 December 1919 – 28 April 2016) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He saw active service in the Second World War and later commanded two frigates before achieving high command in the Navy. ...
who became Admiral of the Fleet and Chief of the Defence Staff.[The Times - obituary 18 May 2016]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmore, Peter
Royal Navy vice admirals
1921 births
2002 deaths
Masters of the Household
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)