Roy Clare Roy Alexander George Clare CBE ( b . 30 September 1950 , Hammersmith , London ) was Chief Executive of the Museums , Libraries and Archives Council 2007 - 2011 . The MLA is due to close down in April 2012 as part of a UK government initiative . In April 2011 he was appointed director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand , replacing interim director Sir Don McKinnon . Early life and naval career . He moved with his family from London to Cape Town , South Africa , where he attended St George ' s Grammar School . He joined the Royal Navy as a seaman at HMS " Ganges " in 1966 , aged 15 , and rose to become a rear admiral in 1999 before leaving the service in 2000 . During his naval career he studied at the Britannia Royal Naval College , Dartmouth ( passing out in 1972 as the winner of that year ' s Queen ' s Sword of Honour ) , the Royal Naval Staff College , Greenwich , and the Royal College of Defence Studies . He was Military Assistant to the Minister of State for the Armed Forces and , later , the Assistant Director of Navy Plans ( Ships ) . His commands included the minehunter the destroyer s ( 1987 – 89 ) and , and the aircraft carrier ( 1996 – 97 ) . He was Captain of the Third Destroyer Squadron in 1991 - 92 and between 1998 - 99 was Commodore of the Britannia Royal Naval College , where he was responsible for preparing new entrant officers for their careers . While Commodore at the College he founded the Britannia Museum , opening the college to the public for the first time . Museums career . As director of the National Maritime Museum between 2000 and 2007 he oversaw a series of exhibitions , including " Elizabeth " , " Skin Deep " and " Nelson & Napoleon " . He instigated " SeaBritain 2005 " , a partnership with Visit Britain and sixty other organisations to commemorate the bicentenary of Admiral Nelson ' s victory in the Battle of Trafalgar . He also led a major re - structuring of collections management , including the creation of a comprehensive inventory , improved conservation facilities and a partnership project with Chatham Historic Dockyard to display and store models of ships . He initiated the £16 million Time and Space project to restore buildings at the Royal Observatory , create new galleries and education spaces , build a 120 seat planetarium - the Peter Harrison Planetarium - and generally upgrade the visitor facilities . The refurbished Royal Observatory was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 2007 . During this time he was also Director of Queens House , the Caird Library and the Royal Observatory , Greenwich . From 2001 to 2007 he was also chairman of a leadership working - group established by the National Museum Directors ' Conference called the Greenwich Forum . He was a trustee of the historic vessel HMS " Bronington " between 1989 and 1999 , after she was decommissioned from the Royal Navy ; he was also vice - president of the Bronington Trust between 1999 - 2002 . Between 2005 and 2007 he was a member of the board of Creative and Cultural Skills ( a Sector Skills Council for museums ) and he has been a member of the board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency since 2009 . From 2007 he has was chief executive of the Museums , Libraries and Archives Council , of which he had been a board member during the previous year . Clare has also been chairman of Living Places , a grouping of UK cultural agencies which aims to foster the benefits of cultural and sporting opportunities in the community . The five agencies involved in the project as at February 2011 are the Arts Council England , the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment ( CABE ) , English Heritage , the Museums , Libraries and Archives Council and Sport England . He edited the book " HMS Bronington : A Tribute to One of Britain ' s Last Wooden Walls And a Celebration of The Ton Class " , which was published in 1996 . In April 2011 he was appointed director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand , replacing interim director Sir Don McKinnon . Recognition . He was appointed CBE in 2007 " for services to museums " and in the same year he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Greenwich . He was awarded the Queen ' s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and also the General Service Medal in 1977 and in 1989 . He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2001 , of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights in 2002 and of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 2004 . In 2001 he became a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute ; and he was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation between 2005 and 2008 . Personal life . A keen yachtsman , Clare was chief mate of the Royal Navy yacht " Adventure " in the first Whitbread round the world race . He and his wife Sarah have a son and two daughters . Their home is in Essex on the Blackwater Estuary where they keep a sailing boat . He is a naval member of the Royal Yacht Squadron .