Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir William Rudolph Slayter (13 February 1896 – 30 April 1971) was a British-American senior

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.

Early life and education

Slayter was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, the son of American parents both born in Chicago. His father, John Howard Slayter, was a physician born to an American mother and Canadian father, and was raised in Canada. His mother, Harriet Alice Schloesser, was the daughter of Prussian immigrants. His parents moved to Surrey, England, in the early 1900s, where his father served with the British Red Cross and was an instructor in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. He entered the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

as a naval cadet in 1909.

Naval career

Slayter joined the

as a

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 15 March 1916 during 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 ...

. He saw action 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 ...

as Deputy Director of Naval Ordnance from March 1940, Director of Naval Ordnance from January 1941 and as Chief of Staff,

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

from November 1943. After the war became Captain of the Gunnery School at Portsmouth in September 1945, commander of the

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

in May 1949 and Admiral Commanding Reserves in October 1950, after promotion to vice-admiral on 15 August 1950. His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief,

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

in August 1952 before retiring in August 1954. He was made Knight Commander of the KCB in the

1952 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1952 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 ...

Personal life

In 1925, he married Helen Justine Hale, daughter of Major Russell Hale, in Ontario, Canada. They had one son. Lady Slayter died in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slayter, William 1896 births 1971 deaths Military personnel from Chicago American people of German descent American people of Canadian descent British people of German descent British people of Canadian descent Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy admirals of World War II