Jock Slater

Sir Jock Slater
Admiral Sir Jock Slater
Nickname(s)	Jock
Born	(1938-03-27) 27 March 1938
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1958–1998
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	First Sea Lord Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Commander-in-Chief Fleet HMS Illustrious HMS Kent HMS Jupiter HMS Soberton
Battles/wars	Cold War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order

Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood "Jock" Slater GCB, LVO, DL (born 27 March 1938) is a retired Royal Navy officer. He commanded a minesweeper, a frigate and then a destroyer before taking over the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and then achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1995 to 1998: in that capacity he played a key role in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review carried out by the Labour Government that had come to power a year earlier.

Early life

Born the son of James Kirkwood Slater OBE and Margaret Claire Byrom Slater (née Bramwell), Slater was educated at the Edinburgh Academy, Sedbergh School and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.^[1] 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.^[2]

Naval career

The frigate HMS Jupiter which Slater commanded in the early 1970s

Slater joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1956 and was confirmed in the rank of sub lieutenant on 1 January 1959.^[3] During his early career he served in the destroyer HMS Troubridge, the minesweeper HMS Yaxham, the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia and the destroyer HMS Cassandra.^[1] In 1965 he was given command of the minesweeper HMS Soberton, which he commanded on fishery protection duties,^[4] before specialising in navigation.^[1] He was posted to the shore establishment HMS Dryad later that year and then served in the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious and then the frigate HMS Scarborough over the next two years.^[1]

Slater became an Equerry to the Queen on 12 October 1968^[5] and, having been promoted to lieutenant commander on 22 October 1968,^[6] his services were recognised when he was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order on 15 October 1971.^[7] Following promotion to commander on 31 December 1971,^[8] he was given command of the frigate HMS Jupiter in 1972.^[1] 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,^[9] he was given command of the destroyer HMS Kent in August of that year.^[1] He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1978 and then became Assistant Director of Naval Warfare at the Ministry of Defence in 1979.^[1] He went on to become commanding officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in May 1981 and then became Captain at the School of Maritime Operations and Commander of HMS Dryad in July 1983.^[1]

The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious which Slater commanded in the early 1980s

Slater was promoted to rear admiral on 18 June 1985,^[10] on appointment as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy and Nuclear), and then promoted to vice admiral on 20 October 1987,^[11] on appointment as Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as NATO Commander Northern Sub-Area Eastern Atlantic, NATO Commander Nore Sub-Area Channel and Commander HM Naval Base Rosyth.^[1] Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1988 Birthday Honours,^[12] he went on to be Chief of Fleet Support in March 1989.^[1] He was promoted to full admiral on appointment as Commander-in-Chief Fleet as well as NATO Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic in January 1991.^[1] Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1992 Birthday Honours,^[13] he became Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in January 1993.^[1]

Slater was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in July 1995.^[1] In that capacity he played a key role in the Strategic Defence Review carried out by the incoming Labour Government.^[14] He retired in October 1998.^[1]

Later career

In retirement Slater has served as a Non-Executive Director of VT Group and of Lockheed Martin UK.^[1] 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.^[1] He currently serves as a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire,^[15] and an Elder Brother of Trinity House and is a Past Prime Warden of the Shipwrights' Company and a Freeman of the City of London.^[1] His interests mostly include outdoor activities.^[1]

Family

In 1972 he married Ann Frances, daughter of William Scott OBE DL, by whom he has two sons (Charles and Rory).^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN 978-1-408-11414-8
↑ "History and Development". Naval Records Society. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 42159. p. 6703. 4 October 1960. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ "Sir Jock Slater". Businessweek. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 44790. p. 1705. 14 February 1969. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44699. p. 11321. 18 October 1968. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 45499. p. 11269. 19 October 1971. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45575. p. 645. 18 January 1972. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46953. p. 9281. 5 July 1976. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 50148. p. 8027. 10 June 1985. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51086. p. 12655. 12 October 1987. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51365. p. 2. 10 June 1988. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 52952. p. 2. 12 June 1992. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
↑ "Former navy chief in government cuts warning". BBC News. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
↑ "The Vice Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants". Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

External links

Debrett's People of Today

Military offices
Preceded by Sir George Vallings	Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland 1987–1989	Succeeded by Sir Michael Livesay
Preceded by Sir Benjamin Bathurst	Chief of Fleet Support 1989–1991	Succeeded by Sir Neville Purvis
Preceded by Sir Benjamin Bathurst	Commander-in-Chief Fleet 1991–1992	Succeeded by Sir Hugo White
Preceded by Sir Benjamin Bathurst	Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff 1993–1995	Succeeded by Sir John Willis
Preceded by Sir Benjamin Bathurst	First Sea Lord 1995–1998	Succeeded by Sir Michael Boyce
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir Joseph Gilbert	Chairman Board of Trustees, Imperial War Museum 2001–2006	Succeeded by Sir Peter Squire

First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy

First Naval Lords (1828–1904)	Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr

First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher 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 Lord 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 Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas Sir Philip Jones

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