William Staveley

Sir William Staveley
10 November 1928 – 13 October 1997
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Staveley Crown Copyright
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1942 - 1989
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	First Sea Lord
Awards	GCB

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Doveton Minet Staveley GCB (10 November 1928 - 13 October 1997), was Chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord.

Naval career

Educated at West Downs School, Winchester, then at the Britannia Royal Naval College (while it was still called the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth) and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, he joined the Royal Navy in 1942. He served on HM Yacht Britannia in 1957 and subsequently in the Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean.

He commanded HMS Zulu during 1967 before being appointed Assistant Director of Naval Plans at the Ministry of Defence. He went on to command HMS Albion between 1972 and 1973^[1].

In 1974 he was appointed Director of Naval Plans and Flag Office 2nd Flotilla. In 1976 he went on to become Flag Officer Carriers & Amphibious Ships. In 1978 he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief Fleet and in 1980 he became Vice Chief of the Defence Staff^[2].

He was appointed Commander-in-chief of Allied Command Channel in 1982^[3] and then went on to serve as First Sea Lord from 1985 until 1989 when he left the Royal Navy.

Later career

In retirement he was a director of the British School of Osteopathy (1990-96) and its Chairman (1992-1996), a Trustee of Chatham Historic Dockyard^[4], President of the Kent Branch of the Royal British Legion (1991- ), President of the Kent Council for the Protection of Rural England (1997- ), Vice-President of the Falkland Islands Association, 1991; Member of the Court of the University of Kent (1988- ) and of its Council (1992- ); and a governor of Sutton Valence School (1990-1992).

Honours

• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, 1981
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 1984
• Freeman of the City of London, 1987
• Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, 1992

Family

Staveley was the son of Admiral Cecil Minet Staveley, CB, CMG, and his wife Margaret Adela (née Sturdee). In 1954, he married Bettina Kirstine Shuter, and they had a son and a daughter^[5].

References

Further reading

• The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995, Heathcote T. A., Pen & Sword Ltd, 2002, ISBN 0 85052 835 6

First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy

The Earl Howe • Sir Peter Parker • Prince William, Duke of Clarence • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Thomas Hardy • The Hon. George Heneage Dundas • Charles Adam • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Charles Adam • Sir George Cockburn • Sir William Parker • Sir Charles Adam • James Whitley Deans Dundas • The Hon. Maurice FitzHardinge Berkeley • Hyde Parker • The Hon. Maurice FitzHardinge Berkeley • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • William Fanshawe Martin • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Sydney Dacres • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Hastings Yelverton • George Wellesley • Sir Astley Cooper Key • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Lord John Hay • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton • Sir Anthony Hoskins • Sir Frederick Richards • Lord Walter Kerr • Sir John A. Fisher • Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson • Sir Francis Bridgeman • Prince Louis of Battenberg • The Baron Fisher of Kilverstone • Sir Henry Jackson • Sir John Jellicoe • Sir Rosslyn Wemyss • The Earl Beatty • Sir Charles Madden, Bt • Sir Frederick Field • The Lord Chatfield • Sir Roger Backhouse • Sir Dudley Pound • The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope • Sir John Cunningham • The Lord Fraser of North Cape • Sir Rhoderick McGrigor • The Earl Mountbatten of Burma • Sir Charles Lambe • Sir Caspar John • Sir David Luce • Sir Varyl Begg • Sir Michael Le Fanu • Sir Peter Hill-Norton • Sir Michael Pollock • Sir Edward Ashmore • Sir Terence Lewin • Sir Henry Leach • Sir John Fieldhouse • Sir William Staveley • Sir Julian Oswald • Sir Benjamin Bathurst • Sir Jock Slater • Sir Michael Boyce • Sir Nigel Essenhigh • Sir Alan West • Sir Jonathon Band •

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