Vice Admiral Sir Peter William Buchanan KBE FNI MRIN (14 May 1925 – 23 November 2011) 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 who became

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...

Early life

Born on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, he was the second son of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Francis Henry Theodore Buchanan and Gwendolen May Isobel (née Hunt). He was educated at Malvern College.Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Officers (1939–1945) : Profile of Sir Peter Buchanan
His brother Leading Aircraftman James Gilliam Buchanan, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died aged 19 on active service in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

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in 1943.

Naval career

Buchanan joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1943. 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 ...

he served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on HMS ''Anson'' and HMS ''King George V''. On the latter ship he fought the Japanese in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and was in the region when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1948 Buchanan transferred to the Royal Navy. From 1956 to 1958 he was on the staff of the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

. He served on HMS ''Birmingham'' from 1958 to 1960. As Fleet Operations Officer in the Far East from 1963 to 1964 he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

.Fraternity review
/ref> From 1965 to 1967 he served on HMS Victorious. Buchanan was given command of HMS ''Endurance'' in 1968.Australian Antarctic Data Centre
/ref> He proved that the route now known as the

Buchanan Passage Buchanan Passage () is a marine channel separating Liard Island from Adelaide Island at the north end of Hanusse Bay. It was discovered and first charted by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908–10, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, and named by the U ...

can be used to reach

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on t ...

from the North. He became Naval Assistant to the

Second Sea Lord 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 1970. In 1972 he took command of HMS Devonshire, before returning to the Ministry of Defence in 1974 and, having been promoted to rear admiral, becoming

in 1976.Senior Royal Navy Appointments
Following promotion to vice admiral, he was appointed Chief of Staff,

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 1979. He retired in 1982.

Other

Buchanan was admitted as a Younger Brother of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

in 1963. He was knighted in the Queen’s

1980 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1980 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

, being awarded a KBE. In 1996 he served as Master of the

Guild of Freemen of the City of London The Guild of Freemen of the City of London is an association of those who hold the Freedom of the City of London. Membership of the Guild is open to all freemen, regardless of whether they are also members of a City livery company.

. From 1997 to 2010 he was President of RNLI

Selsey Lifeboat Station Selsey Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Selsey, West Sussex on the south coast of England.Chichester, South Harting, and Selsey OS Explorer Map 120 Folded Map. Publisher: Ordnance Survey; ...

. A stained glass window commemorating his service was unveiled at the station on 4 October 2017 by his widow Lady (Audrey) Buchanan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Peter 1925 births 2011 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Malvern College Indian military personnel of World War II Military personnel from the Isle of Wight Members of Trinity House Royal Indian Navy officers