Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Incumbent Vice-Admiral Martin Connell since 14 January 2022
Ministry of Defence
Abbreviation	DCNS
Member of	Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Board, Navy Board
Reports to	First Sea Lord
Nominator	First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Defence
Appointer	Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length	Not fixed (typically 1–3 years)
Formation	1917–1968, 2013–current
First holder	Vice Admiral Henry Oliver

The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) is a very important job in the Royal Navy, which is the United Kingdom's navy. This role is currently held by the Second Sea Lord. The person in this position is usually a three-star rank officer, which means they are a very senior leader. Sometimes, this role has been held by officers with slightly different ranks, like a two-star or even a four-star officer.

History of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff

The job of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was first created in 1917. It was part of the Board of Admiralty, which was like the main leadership group for the Royal Navy. This new role took over some of the responsibilities from an older position called the Chief of the Admiralty War Staff.

During the World Wars

The very first person to be the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was Vice Admiral Henry Oliver. He started in this role on May 31, 1917. His duties were shared with the First Sea Lord, who was the top naval officer, and the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff.

In September 1917, during World War I, a new position called Deputy First Sea Lord was created. For a while, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff reported to this new Deputy First Sea Lord. But this changed in 1919 when the Deputy First Sea Lord role was ended. After that, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff went back to reporting directly to the First Sea Lord until 1941.

Some of the main jobs of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in 1917 included:

• Helping the First Sea Lord with daily tasks.
• Planning where naval fleets would move.
• Managing naval operations in important areas like the North Sea.
• Protecting trade ships from enemy attacks.
• Dealing with naval matters in foreign areas.
• Organizing and protecting ships that carried troops.

These duties stayed mostly the same until 1939, when World War II began. After 1939, the duties changed to focus more on:

• Big decisions about naval policy and warfare.
• Making sure the fleet was ready for fighting and sailing.
• Deciding where all the ships should be placed.
• Overseeing the naval staff and the Hydrographic Department.
• Managing naval communications.
• Supervising other important naval leaders.

In 1941, the name of the DCNS job was changed to Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. This name was used until 1946. After World War II, the title went back to Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and continued until 1968.

The Role Returns in 2013

The position of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was brought back in 2013. Since then, the person holding this job has been a member of both the Admiralty Board and the Navy Board. These boards are important groups within the Ministry of Defence that help run the Royal Navy.

Around 2014, the duties of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff included:

• Leading all the Royal Navy units that can be sent out for missions, including the Royal Marines.
• Making sure that ships, submarines, aircraft, and Royal Marine units are fully ready for any operations the UK government needs.
• Being responsible for providing the right people, equipment, and bases for the Naval Service now and in the future.

Who Has Been Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff?

Many important naval officers have held this position over the years. Here are some of the people who have served as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff:

No.		Deputy Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Oliver, HenryVice Admiral Sir Henry Oliver (1865–1965)	July 1917	January 1918	6 months	.
2		Fremantle, SydneyActing Vice Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle (1867–1958)	January 1918	May 1919	1 year, 4 months	.
3		Brock, OsmondVice Admiral Sir Osmond Brock (1869–1947)	August 1919	November 1921	2 years, 3 months
4		Keyes, RogerVice Admiral Sir Roger Keyes (1872–1945)	November 1921	May 1925	3 years, 6 months
5		Field, FrederickVice Admiral Sir Frederick Field (1871–1945)	May 1925	May 1928	3 years
6		Dreyer, FredericAdmiral Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer (1878–1956)	June 1930	January 1933	2 years, 7 months
7		Little, CharlesVice Admiral Sir Charles Little (1882–1973)	January 1933	October 1935	2 years, 9 months
8		James, WilliamVice Admiral Sir William James (1881–1973)	October 1935	October 1938	3 years
9		Cunningham, AndrewVice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham (1883–1963)	October 1938	May 1939	7 months
10		Phillips, TomVice Admiral Sir Tom Phillips (1888–1941)	June 1939	October 1941	2 years, 5 months

Note: The post was renamed from 1941 to 1946. Its duties were handled by the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff during that time.

No.		Deputy Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Oliver, RobertRear Admiral Robert Don Oliver (1895–1980)	April 1946	April 1947	1 year	.
2		Evans, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Edward Evans-Lombe (1901–1974)	December 1950	January 1953	2 years, 1 month	.
3		Barnard, GeoffreyRear Admiral Sir Geoffrey Barnard (1901–1974)	January 1953	April 1954	1 year, 3 months
4		Clifford, EricVice Admiral Sir Eric Clifford (1900–1964)	April 1954	September 1957	3 years, 5 months

Note: From 1957 to 1965, the job was also held by the Fifth Sea Lord.

No.		Deputy Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Power, ManleyVice Admiral Sir Manley Power (1904–1981)	October 1957	February 1959	1 year, 4 months	.
2		Durlacher, LaurenceAdmiral Sir Laurence Durlacher (1904–1986)	February 1959	January 1962	2 years, 11 months
3		Gretton, PeterVice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton (1912–1992)	January 1962	January 1963	1 year
4		Hopkins, FrankVice Admiral Sir Frank Hopkins (1910–1990)	January 1963	March 1966	3 years, 2 months
5		Janvrin, RichardVice Admiral Sir Richard Janvrin (1915–1993)	March 1966	October 1968	2 years, 7 months

Note: The position was empty from 1969 to 2012. It was brought back in 2013. From 2013 to 2015, the Fleet Commander held the role, and from 2016, it has been held by the Second Sea Lord.

No.		Deputy Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Jones, PhilipVice Admiral Sir Philip Jones (born 1960)	30 November 2012	8 April 2016	3 years, 130 days
2		Woodcock, JonathanVice Admiral Jonathan Woodcock (born 1962)	8 April 2016	27 March 2018	1 year, 353 days
3		Radakin, TonyVice Admiral Tony Radakin (born 1965)	27 March 2018	26 April 2019	1 year, 30 days
4		Hine, NicholasVice Admiral Nick Hine (born 1966)	26 April 2019	12 January 2022	2 years, 261 days
5		Connell, MartinVice Admiral Martin Connell (born 1968)	12 January 2022	Incumbent	3 years, 194 days

See also

• Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff
• Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
• First Sea Lord
• Second Sea Lord
• Third Sea Lord
• Fourth Sea Lord
• Fifth Sea Lord