Charles Lambe Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Edward Lambe GCB , CVO ( 20 December 1900 – 29 August 1960 ) was a senior Royal Navy officer . He fought in World War II in command of a cruiser , as Director of Naval Plans and then in command of an aircraft carrier . He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1959 until 1960 when he was forced to retire early because of a heart condition . He died only a few months later . Naval career . Born the son of Henry Edward Lambe and Lilian Hope Lambe ( née Bramwell ) , Lambe was educated at the Royal Naval College , Osborne . He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1914 and was posted as a midshipman to the battleship HMS " Emperor of India " on 15 August 1917 : he remained with her until the end of the First World War . Lambe transferred to the battleship HMS " King George V " in June 1919 and , having been promoted to sub - lieutenant on 15 January 1921 , was posted to the cruiser HMS " Raleigh " in March 1921 . Promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1922 , he joined the battleship HMS " Benbow " in the Mediterranean Fleet on August 1923 . He attended the torpedo school , HMS " Vernon " , in 1926 and after qualifying there , joined the destroyer HMS " Stuart " in the Mediterranean Fleet as torpedo officer . Promoted to lieutenant - commander on 15 February 1930 , he attended the Royal Navy Staff College in 1931 and then joined the cruiser HMS " Hawkins " on the East Indies Station . Promoted to commander on 30 June 1933 , he joined the staff of the Flag Officer , Destroyer Flotillas in the Mediterranean Fleet before returning home to become Commander of HMS " Vernon " . He was appointed equerry to the King on 1 September 1936 and , having been promoted to captain on 31 December 1937 and appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 28 September 1938 , he was given command of the cruiser HMS " Dunedin " in January 1939 . Lambe served in the Second World War , initially in command of HMS " Dunedin " as part of the Northern Patrol , and from October 1940 in the Plans Department at the Admiralty , where he served successively as Assistant Director , as Deputy Director and , from March 1942 , as Director . Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1944 New Year Honours , he was given command of the aircraft carrier HMS " Illustrious " in the British Pacific Fleet in May 1944 and survived a kamikazi attack in April 1945 . He was three times mentioned in despatches and also awarded the American Legion of Merit for his service during the War . After the War he served as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff ( Air ) from August 1945 . He was appointed a Naval Aide - de - Camp to the King on 8 January 1947 . Promoted to rear admiral on 8 July 1947 , he became Flag Officer , Flying Training in September 1947 and Commander of the 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron in the Home Fleet in September 1949 . In 1950 he offered a place on the Home Fleet ' s spring cruise to the composer Lennox Berkeley who was composing " Nelson " , an opera based on the life of Lord Nelson ; the route of the cruise passed through the waters of the Battle of Trafalgar . Lambe , who was an able pianist , had Berkely ' s cabin fitted up with a pair of grand piano s so that they could play piano duets during the voyage . Promoted to vice admiral on 1 December 1950 , Lambe became Flag Officer ( Air ) Home at Lee - on - Solent in March 1951 and took part in the funeral of King George VI in February 1952 . He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1953 New Year Honours , before becoming Commander - in - Chief , Far East Station in March 1953 . Promoted to full admiral on 30 March 1954 , he went on to be Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel in October 1955 and , having been advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1957 Birthday Honours , he became Commander - in - Chief , Mediterranean Fleet as well as NATO Commander - in - Chief , Allied Forces Mediterranean in November 1957 . Lambe became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in May 1959 . He suffered a serious heart attack only six months after taking office and was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on his early retirement on 10 May 1960 . He died at his home at Newport - on - Tay in Fife on 29 August 1960 . Family . In 1940 Lambe married Lesbia Rachel Mylius ( née Corbet ) ; they had one son and one daughter .