Vice-Admiral Sir Stephen Hope Carlill (23 December 1902 – 9 February 1996) 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 ...

admiral who served as the last British Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy from 1955 to 1958, when he was succeeded by Vice-Admiral

Ram Dass Katari Admiral Ram Dass Katari (8 October 1911 – 21 January 1983) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 22 April 1958 to 4 June 1962. He was the first Indian to hold the office and succeeded the last B ...

Early life and career

Carlill was born in Orpington, Kent, the son of Harold Flamenk Carlill (1875–1959), a civil servant, and Beatrice Newton Hope (d. 1924). He was educated at the Royal Naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth, and was commissioned as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant in 1923. From 1923 to 1926 he served aboard HMS ''Ramillies'' and was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1925. In 1927 he served aboard the

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...

HMS ''Adventure''. From 1928 to 1930, Carlill studied gunnery at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

and aboard HMS ''Excellent'' from 1929 to 1930. He served as 2nd

Gunnery Officer The gunnery officer of a warship was the officer responsible for operation and maintenance of the ship's guns and for safe storage of the ship's ammunition inventory. Background The gunnery officer was usually the line officer next in rank to the ...

on the cruiser in the Atlantic Fleet from 1930 to 1931. From 1932 to 1935, he served as gunnery officer on the cruiser HMS ''Dunedin'' and as squadron gunnery officer for the

New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy also known as the New Zealand Station was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally, the Royal Navy was solely responsible for ...

. Carlill was 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 rank i ...

in 1933, and returned to Portsmouth from 1935 to 1936 to further study gunnery aboard HMS ''Excellent''. From 1936 to 1937, he served as a gunnery officer on the battlecruiser in the Mediterranean and was promoted to Commander in July 1937. He subsequently served as Squadron Gunnery Officer for the Mediterranean Fleet aboard the cruiser HMS ''Galatea'' until August 1939. 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 ...

, Carlill was successively given command of three ships: * HMS ''Hambledon'' (L37) - as Commander 1 April 1940 to Oct 1940 * HMS ''Farndale'' (L70) - as Commander 3 December 1940 to 14 July 1942 * HMS ''Quilliam'' (G09) - as Captain 26 August 1942 to Nov 1943 After World War II, Carlill served various ship and land roles: * Deputy Director (Gunnery), Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division, Admiralty HMS ''President'' 1944-46 * Chief of Staff to Commander-in-Chief, British Pacific Fleet HMS ''Tamar'' 1946 * Chief Staff Officer to Commander-in-Chief, British Pacific Fleet HMS ''London'' 1946-1948 * Commanding Officer, HMS ''Excellent'' (gunnery school, Portsmouth) 1949-1950 * Commanding Officer, (aircraft carrier) 1950-51 * Senior Naval Member, Imperial Defence College HMS ''President'' 1952-1954 * Flag Officer, Training Squadron, Home Fleet HMS ''Theseus'' 1954-1955

Post-naval career

Following his service in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

, Carlill retired from the

on 7 July 1959. He served as representative in Ghana of the West Africa Committee from 1960 to 1966, and as adviser to the West Africa Committee from 1966 to 1967.

Personal life

Carlill was married in 1928 to Julie Fredrike Elisabeth Hildegard (died 1991), only daughter of late Reverend W. Rahlenbeck of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. The Carlills had two sons; one, Admiral James Michael Rahlenbeck Carlill (1934–2010), also served in the

. Carlill died at Colwall, Malvern,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlill, Stephen Hope Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy officers of World War II 1902 births 1996 deaths Royal Indian Navy officers Military personnel from Kent Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India)