The Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom is a now honorary office generally held by a senior (possibly 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 ...

admiral, though the current incumbent is a retired

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

General. Despite the title, the Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom is usually a full admiral. He is the deputy to the

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in th ...

, who is in turn deputy to the

Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom The Lord High Admiral (of England beginning in the 14th century, later of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom) is the ceremonial head of the Royal Navy. Most have been courtiers or members of British royal family, and not professional na ...

(an office that was vested from 1964 to 2011 in the Sovereign and from 2011 to 2021 in The Duke of Edinburgh). He is appointed by the Sovereign on the nomination of the

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 ...

. The Admiral usually retires at 70 years of age, but there have been admirals, such as

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Marquess of Maranhão (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a British naval flag officer of the Royal Navy, mercenary and Radical politician. He was a ...

, who have been over 80 before they retired from their office.

Rear-Admirals of England

* Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington 1683–1687 * Sir Roger Strickland 12 December 1687 – 13 December 1688 * Sir Cloudesley Shovell 6 January 1705 N.S. – 1 May 1707

Rear-Admirals of Great Britain

* Sir Cloudesley Shovell 1 May 1707 – 23 October 1707 *''vacant'' * Sir John Leake 24 May 1709 – 1 August 1714 *''vacant'' *

Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer Admiral of the Fleet Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer (ca. 1650 – 18 August 1720), of Covent Garden, Westminster, and Westcliffe, near Dover, was an Anglo-Irish Royal Navy officer and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House o ...

18 March 1719 N.S. – 18 August 1720 *

George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains ...

October 1720 – 17 January 1733 * Sir John Jennings 27 February 1733 N.S. – 1743 *

Thomas Mathews Thomas Mathews (October 16762 October 1751) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of admiral. Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the ...

18 February 1743 – 1749 * Sir William Rowley 4 July 1749 – 1763 *

Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of ...

4 January 1763 – 5 November 1765 * Sir Charles Knowles 5 November 1765 – October 1770 *

Francis Holburne Admiral Sir Francis Holburne (1704 – 15 July 1771) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He served as commodore and commander-in-chief at the Leeward Islands during the War of the Austrian Succession and then took part in an operation to ...

October 1770 – 14 July 1771 * George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney 17 August 1771 – 6 November 1781 *

George Darby Vice Admiral George Darby (c.1720 – 1790) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to command the Channel Fleet during the American Revolutionary ...

6 November 1781 – 1790 * Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport 6 April 1790 – March 1796 * Sir William Cornwallis March 1796 – 1 January 1801

Rear-Admirals of the United Kingdom

* Sir William Cornwallis 1 January 1801 – 14 May 1814 * Sir William Young 14 May 1814 – 18 July 1819 *

James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras. Early life Saumarez was born ...

18 July 1819 – 21 November 1821 * William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk 21 November 1821 – 28 May 1831 *

Sir Thomas Foley Admiral Sir Thomas Foley GCB (1757 – 9 January 1833) was a Royal Navy officer and "Hero of the Battle of the Nile". Naval career He was the second son of landowner John Foley of Ridgeway, the Foley family's ancestral estate in the parish of ...

14 June 1831 – 9 January 1833 *

Sir George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Bea ...

23 January 1833 – April 1834 * Sir Robert Stopford April 1834 – 5 May 1847 *

Sir Thomas Byam Martin Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin, (25 July 1773 – 25 October 1854) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of fifth-rate HMS ''Fisgard'' he took part in a duel with the French ship ''Immortalité'' and captured her at the Battl ...

5 May 1847 – 10 August 1847 * Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet 10 August 1847 – 19 August 1853 * Sir William Hall Gage 24 October 1853 – 6 November 1854 *

, 1st Marquess do

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

6 November 1854 – 31 October 1860 * Sir Graham Hamond, 2nd Baronet 22 November 1860 – 5 June 1862 * Sir Francis William Austen 5 June 1862 – 11 December 1862 * Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet 11 December 1862 – 16 May 1863 * Sir George Francis Seymour 16 May 1863 – 23 September 1865 * Sir William Bowles 23 September 1865 – 26 November 1866 * Sir Phipps Hornby 26 November 1866 – 19 March 1867 * Sir Fairfax Moresby 20 April 1867 – 17 July 1869 * Sir Provo Wallis 17 July 1869 – 12 February 1870 * Sir William James Hope-Johnstone 12 February 1870 – 11 July 1878 * Sir William Fanshawe Martin, Bt 19 September 1878 – 24 March 1895 *''abolished under

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

; revived by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

'' * Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle 25 July 1901 – 31 December 1926 * Sir Stanley Cecil James Colville 31 December 1926 – 22 March 1929 * Sir Montague Edward Browning 22 March 1929 – 13 February 1939 * Sir Hubert George Brand 13 February 1939 – 19 June 1945 * Sir Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble 19 June 1945 – 25 July 1955 * Sir John Hereward Edelsten 10 October 1955 – 12 October 1962 * Sir John Peter Lorne Reid 12 October 1962 – 11 March 1966 * Sir Alexander Noel Campbell Bingley 11 March 1966 – 1972 * Sir Nigel Stuart Henderson 11 January 1973 – 12 April 1976 * Sir John Fitzroy Duyland Bush 29 April 1976 – 1 August 1979 * Sir William Donough O'Brien 1 August 1979 – 1984 * Sir Leslie Derek Empson 1984 – 13 November 1986 * Sir Anthony Templer Frederick Griffith Griffin 13 November 1986 – 29 October 1988 * Sir Anthony Storrs Morton 29 October 1988 – 24 November 1988 * Sir James Henry Fuller Eberle 24 November 1988 – 17 January 1994 * Sir Nicholas John Streynsham Hunt 17 January 1994 – 6 November 1997 * Sir Jeremy Black 6 November 1997 – 30 April 2001 * Sir Kenneth Eaton 30 April 2001 – 2007 * Sir Gordon Messenger 6 December 2021 present

References

{{reflist, 3 Titles Royal Navy Royal Navy appointments Maritime history of the United Kingdom 1683 establishments in England

Rear-Admirals of England

Rear-Admirals of Great Britain

Rear-Admirals of the United Kingdom

See also

References