J. Richard Hill

John Richard Hill is a retired rear-admiral in the Royal Navy, a former chief executive of the Middle Temple, author, and editor of many books on naval affairs.

Early Life and Education

Richard Hill was born on 25 March 1929, the son of Stanley Hill and May Henshaw Hill. He entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1942 and became a sub-lieutenant in 1946.

Naval career

Richard Hill went to sea in 1946 and served mainly in destroyers and frigates, specializing in navigation up to the age of thirty-three. He served as a sub-lieutenant on the China Station in 1946-47, before attending his sub-lieutenant's courses in 1947-49. Promoted to lieutenant, he served in HMS "Gambia" in 1950, HMS "Chevron" in 1950-52, HMS "Tintagel Castle" in 1952-54, then serves ashore as a Navigation Specialist at HMS "Dryad" in 1954, then returned to sea in HMS "Cardigan Bay" in 1954-56, HMS "Albion" in 1956-58, and HMS "Roebuck" in 1958-59. As a lieutenant-commander, he served at Pembroke Dockyard in 1959-60 and in HMS "Duchess" in 1960-62.

Following his promotion to commander, he served mainly in appointments in the Ministry of Defence between 1963 and 1969, attending the Imperial Defence College in 1965-67. In 1969-71, he served at HMS "Dryad". In 1972, he was appointed Defence Fellow of King's College London, where he wrote a thesis on 'The Rule of Law at Sea.' On promotion to captain, he returned to the Ministry of Defence in 1973-75, then he was posted abroad to The Netherlands, where he served as Defence and Naval Attaché at The Hague in 1975-77. Promoted to commodore in 1977, he returned to the Ministry of Defence until promoted to rear-admiral in 1981, he served on the Flag Officer, Admiralty Interview Board, 1981-83. He retired from the Royal Navy as a rear-admiral in 1983.

Later career

Following his retirement as a serving officer, Hill became under-treasurer, the chief executive, of the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, and held that post for ten years until his retirement in 1994, when he was made Hon. Bencher, 1994. He served as Secretary of the Council of Inns of Court, 1987-93.

He has served as editor of the Naval Review, 1983-2002 and as its reviews editor from 2002. He has been a member of Council, Greenwich Forum, 1983 -, and served on the Board of War Studies, University of London, 1986-94; member of Council, Foundation for International Security, 1987-; member of Council, 1993-1997´and Vice President, 1997-2001 of the Navy Records Society; member of Council, 1993-94, and Chairman, 1994-99, of the Society for Nautical Research. Trustee, 1994-99, and Vice President, 2002, of the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth. In 2000, the British Maritime Foundation awarded Admiral Hill the Mountbatten Maritime Prize.

Published Works

Rear-Admiral Hill has published articles in a number of professional journals, including "Survival", "Navy International", "Brassey's Annual", "NATO's 15 Nations, " Naval Review", "Naval Forces". He has contributed to the "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", for which he wrote biographies of Sir Harold Burrough, Sir John Hayes, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin, Vonla McBride, Sir Roderick Macdonald, Sir Ian McIntosh, and Sir Bernard Rawlings.

* "French strategy and its political bases" (1966)

* "The Royal Navy, today and tomorrow" (1983)

* "Anti-submarine warfare" (1984)

* "Air defence at sea" (1984)

* "British sea power in the 1980s" (1985)

* "Maritime strategy for medium powers" (1986)

* "Arms control at sea" (1989)

* "The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy", general editor, J.R. Hill; consultant editor, Bryan Ranft (1995)

* "The prizes of war : the naval prize system in the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815" (1998)

* "Maritime operations in peace : drug interdiction, disaster relief, suppression of piracy", Stephen Jermy, John Lippiett, Richard Hill. (1998).

* "War at sea in the ironclad age" (2000)

* "Lewin of Greenwich: the authorised biography of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin" (2000)

* "Maritime Britain" (2005)

ource

* Information from Publishers