Jock Slater

Infobox Military Person
name= Jock Slater
lived= 27 March 1938 –
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption= Admiral Sir Jock Slater
Crown Copyright
nickname= Jock
allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1958-1998
rank= Admiral
branch=
branch
commands= First Sea Lord
HMS "Illustrious"
HMS "Kent"
HMS "Jupiter"
unit=
battles= Cold War
awards= Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order
laterwork=

Admiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood Slater GCB, LVO, DL (born 27 March 1938) served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. He was Equerry to HM The Queen from 1968 to 1971.

Family background

Sir Jock was the son of James Kirkwood Slater, FRSE, OBE, and Margaret Claire Byrom Bramwell. His maternal grandmother, "née" Elizabeth Cumming Cunningham, was the elder sister of Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, one of his great nephew's predecessors in the office of First Sea Lord.

On all sides, Sir Jock came from an Edinburgh medical background. His father, a physician and neurologist; his brother, Peter James Bramwell Slater, a biologist; his maternal grandfather Edwin Bramwell (1873-1952), also a physician and neurologist; both of his maternal greatgrandfathers Sir Byrom Bramwell (1847-1931), a physician, and Daniel John Cunningham (1850-1909), an anatomist; and his great-uncles Byrom Stanley Bramwell (1877-1948), an advocate, and John Cunningham (1882-1968), a physician and bacteriologist, were all Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [ [http://www.burkes-peerage.net/Search/FullRecordBottom.aspx?ID=12663 Burke's Peerage] ] [ [http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp1.pdf Royal Society of Edinburgh Index 1] ] [ [http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp2.pdf Royal Society of Edinburgh Index 2] ] [ [http://culture.st-and.ac.uk/solace/staff/slater.html University of St Andrews] ]

Naval career

Educated at Edinburgh Academy and Sedbergh School, he joined the Royal Navy in 1958. He commanded HMS "Jupiter" from 1972 to 1973, HMS "Kent" from 1976 to 1977 and HMS "Illustrious" from 1981 to 1983 [http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/rnli_people/trustees RNLI Trustees] . Retrieved 9 August 2006.] .

He was Assistant Chief of Defence Staff from 1985 to 1987 and Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1989.

In 1991 he became Commander-in-Chief Fleet and in 1993 Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He was First Sea Lord from 1995 to 1998. In this capacity he had to deal with the Strategic Defence Review carried out by the incoming Labour Government [ [http://www.edinburghacademy.org.uk/seniorprospectus/alumni/slater.htm Edinburgh Academy Biography] ] .

Later career

Since retirement, his appointments have included Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire, Director of VT Group, Director and Senior Military Adviser to Lockheed Martin UK, chairman of the Executive Committee of the RNLI, vice chairman of the British Forces Foundation and chairman of the Council of Management of the White Ensign Association [ [http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page6212.asp No.10 Downing Street Biographical notes] ] .

He served as Chairman of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum from 2001 to 2006 [ [http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.4093 Imperial War Museum announcement of Sir Jock's retirement] ] having first been appointed a Trustee in 1999.

References