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 ...

Sir Robert Nathaniel Woodard, KCVO, DL (; born 13 January 1939) is a former Commander of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Naval career

Educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

, the school founded by his great-grandfather, Rev

Nathaniel Woodard Nathaniel Woodard (; 21 March 1811 – 25 April 1891) was a priest in the Church of England. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on "sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly groun ...

, Woodard 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 ...

and specialised in aviation.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He commanded 771 Naval Air Squadron and

848 Naval Air Squadron 848 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It operated the Westland Sea King HC.4 helicopter and previously provided advanced flying training to pilots for the other squadrons in the Commando Helicopter Force. The s ...

and then took charge of the frigate HMS ''Amazon''. Promoted to Captain he was given command of HMS Glasgow. Appointment as Flag Officer Sea Training and command of the naval air station HMS ''Osprey'' followed in 1985 and then became Commodore on the River Clyde in 1988 before being appointed

Flag Officer, Royal Yachts The Flag Officer, Royal Yachts, (FORY) also styled Flag Officer Commanding Royal Yachts was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1884 to 1997. History Royal yachts have been a feature of the monarchy since at least 1660, during this perio ...

with specific responsibility for the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1990. He retired in 1995. He has served as equerry to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

and as Deputy Lieutenant of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

The Sir Robert Woodard Academy The Sir Robert Woodard Academy is a mixed gender academy, sponsored by Woodard Schools and West Sussex County Council, in Lancing, West Sussex which opened in September 2009. The academy, which serves the communities of Lancing and Sompting, r ...

, which has been named in his honour, was opened on the site of the previous school,

Boundstone Community College Boundstone Community College was a co-educational comprehensive school for pupils aged 11 to 18, with around 1,000 pupils, including over 100 in the Sixth Form, which served the communities of Lancing and Sompting. The school closed on 31 Augu ...

, in September 2009.The Sir Robert Woodard Academy
Woodard Schools

Family

In 1963 he married Rosamund Lucia Gibbs; they have two sons and one daughter.

References

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
Living people People educated at Lancing College Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Navy admirals 1939 births Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall {{UK-navy-bio-stub