# Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom)

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 |
| 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 |