Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood "Jock" Slater, (born 27 March 1938) 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 ...

officer. He commanded a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, a frigate and then a destroyer before taking over the aircraft carrier and then achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1995 to 1998: in that capacity he played a key role in the 1998

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of ...

carried out by the Labour Government that had come to power a year earlier.

Early life

Slater was the son of James Kirkwood Slater and Margaret Claire Byrom Bramwell, daughter of Dr

Edwin Bramwell Edwin Bramwell FRSE PRCPE LLD (1873–1952) was a 20th-century Scottish neurologist. He was President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1933 to 1935. Life He was born in North Shields on 11 January 1873 the son of Martha ...

.'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010, Slater was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

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 ci ...

. Slater is a great nephew of Admiral of the Fleet The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope who served as First Sea Lord 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 opposi ...

Naval career

Slater joined the

as a cadet in 1956 and was confirmed in the rank of

sub lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on 1 January 1959. During his early career he served in the destroyer , the

, the Royal Yacht HMY ''Britannia'' and the destroyer . In 1965 he was given command of the minesweeper HMS ''Soberton'', which he commanded on fishery protection duties, before specialising in

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

. He was posted to the shore establishment later that year and then served in the aircraft carrier and then the frigate over the next two years. Slater became an 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), ...

on 12 October 1968 and, having been promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

on 22 October 1968, his services were recognised when he was made a

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

on 15 October 1971. Following promotion to commander on 31 December 1971, he was given command of the frigate in 1972. He was posted to the Directorate of Naval Operations at the Ministry of Defence in 1973 and, following promotion to captain on 30 June 1976, he was given command of the destroyer in August of that year. He attended the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest lev ...

in 1978 and then became Assistant Director of Naval Warfare at the Ministry of Defence in 1979. He went on to become the first commanding officer of the aircraft carrier in May 1981 and then became Captain at the School of Maritime Operations and Commander of HMS ''Dryad'' in July 1983. HMS Illustrious 1

Slater was promoted to rear admiral on 18 June 1985, on appointment as

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Minis ...

(Policy and Nuclear), and then promoted to vice admiral on 20 October 1987, on appointment as

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was based at HMNB Clyde, HM Naval Base Clyde, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland. The ...

as well as

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 Northern Sub-Area Eastern Atlantic, NATO Commander Nore Sub-Area Channel and Commander HM Naval Base Rosyth. Appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

in the 1988

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

, he went on to be Chief of Fleet Support in March 1989. He was promoted to full admiral on appointment as

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional he ...

as well as

Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic in January 1991. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1992

, he became Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in January 1993. Slater was appointed

and Chief of the Naval Staff in July 1995. In that capacity he played a key role in the

carried out by the incoming Labour Government. He retired in October 1998.

Later career

In retirement Slater has served as a Non-Executive Director of

VT Group VT Group is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VT Group was integrated into Babcock International in t ...

and of Lockheed Martin UK. He has also been Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785, Chairman of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum and Chairman of the Council of Management of the White Ensign Association. He has been a Deputy Lieutenant of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, an Elder 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 ...

, a Prime Warden of the Shipwrights' Company, and a

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. His other interests mostly include outdoor activities.

Family

In 1972 Slater married Ann Frances, daughter of William Scott OBE DL, by whom he has two sons (Charles and Rory).

References

External links

''Debrett's People of Today''
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Jock 1938 births Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire Equerries First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Living people People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Sedbergh School Place of birth missing (living people) Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War Alumni of the Royal College of Defence Studies Members of Trinity House