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

Quick facts for kids Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Department of the Admiralty, Ministry of Defence
Abbreviation	V.C.N.S.
Member of	Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Board
Reports to	Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
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 2–3 years)
Formation	1941
First holder	Sir Henry Moore
Final holder	Sir Peter Stanford
Abolished	1985

The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a three-star rank and had a NATO ranking code of OF-8 that existed from 1941 to 1985 and was a member of the Admiralty Naval Staff.

History

In October 1941 the post of Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff was created when the Admiralty abolished the title of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in line with changes that were also taking place within the army and air force. It was essentially the same role as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff: the post holder initially was the operational head of the Royal Navy and reported directly to the First Sea Lord.

In 1946 the office of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was revived and the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from that point reported to the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.

Following internal re-structuring within the Ministry of Defence the position of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff was abolished in 1985.

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff included:
Note: reports to the First Sea Lord from 1941 to 1946 then reports to the DCNS from 1947 until 1985

No.		Chief-of-Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Moore, MooreVice Admiral Sir Henry Ruthven Moore	21 October 1941	7 June 1943	1 year, 7 months
2		Syfret, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Edward Neville Syfret	8 June 1943	October 1945	2 years, 3 months
3		McGrigor, RhoderickVice Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor	October 1945	October 1947	2 years
4		Edelsten, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Edelsten	October 1947	November 1949	2 years, 1 month
5		Creasy, GeorgeVice Admiral Sir George Creasy	November 1949	October 1951	1 year, 11 months
6		Grantham, GuyVice Admiral Sir Guy Grantham	October 1951	April 1954	2 years, 6 months
7		Davis, WilliamVice Admiral Sir William Davis	April 1954	May 1957	3 years, 1 month
8		John, CasparVice Admiral Sir Caspar John	May 1957	February 1960	2 years, 9 months
9		Couchman, CouchmanVice Admiral Sir Walter Couchman	February 1960	November 1960	9 months
10		Begg, VarylVice Admiral Sir Varyl Begg	January 1961	February 1963	2 years, 1 month
11		Frewen, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Frewen	February 1963	April 1965	2 years, 2 months
12		Bush, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Bush	April 1965	August 1967	2 years, 4 months
13		Hill, PeterVice Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton	August 1967	December 1968	1 year, 4 months
14		Ashmore, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore	December 1968	January 1971	2 years, 1 month
15		Ashmore, EdwardVice Admiral Sir Terence Lewin	January 1971	October 1973	2 years, 9 months
16		Treacher, JohnVice Admiral Sir John Treacher	October 1973	April 1975	1 year, 6 months
17		Lygo, RaymondVice Admiral Sir Raymond Lygo	April 1975	January 1978	2 years, 9 months
18		Morton, AnthonyVice Admiral Sir Anthony Morton	January 1978	July 1980	2 years, 6 months
19		Staveley, WilliamVice Admiral Sir William Staveley	July 1980	October 1982	2 years, 3 months
20		Stanford, PeterVice Admiral Sir Peter Stanford	October 1982	October 1985	3 years

See also

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