J . Richard Hill Rear Admiral John Richard Hill ( born 25 March 1929 ) 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 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 from 1946 to 1947 , before attending his sub - lieutenant ' s courses from 1947 to 1949 . Promoted to lieutenant , he served in HMS " Gambia " in 1950 , HMS " Chevron " in 1950 to 1952 , HMS " Tintagel Castle " from 1952 to 1954 and then served ashore as a Navigation Specialist at HMS " Dryad " in 1954 , before returning to sea in HMS " Cardigan Bay " in 1954 to 1956 , HMS " Albion " in 1956 to 1958 , and HMS " Roebuck " in 1958 to 1959 . As a lieutenant - commander , he served at Pembroke Dockyard in 1959 to 1960 and in HMS " Duchess " in 1960 to 1962 . Following his promotion to commander , he served mainly in appointments in the Ministry of Defence between 1963 and 1969 , attending the Imperial Defence College from 1965 to 1967 . In 1969 to 1971 , 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 from 1973 to 1975 , then he was posted abroad to The Netherlands , where he served as Defence and Naval Attaché at The Hague from 1975 to 1977 . Promoted to commodore in 1977 , he returned to the Ministry of Defence until promoted to rear - admiral in 1981 ; he served as Flag Officer , Admiralty Interview Board from 1981 to 1983 . 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 Douglas Macdonald , Sir Ian McIntosh , and Sir Bernard Rawlings .