Ian Wheatley

Ian James Wheatley, (born 1962) Having completed officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College, he was commissioned on 1 May 1983 with the rank of sub-lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 September 1985. He transferred to the Retired List on 14 September 1991.

Religious life Having left the Royal Navy in 1991,

Later military career

In 1997, Wheatley joined the Royal Navy as a military chaplain.

On 7 August 2012, he was appointed Deputy Chaplain of the Fleet. As the then Chaplain of the Fleet was a Church of Scotland minister, he also became the Principal Anglican Chaplain and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy. On 18 December 2014, he was appointed Chaplain of the Fleet in succession to The Rev Scott Brown. With this appointment, he became head of the Royal Navy Chaplaincy Services and is therefore the most senior chaplain in the Royal Navy. As Chaplain of the Fleet, he was also the Honorary Chaplain to the Royal Naval Association.

From October 2012 to 2018, he was a member of the House of Clergy of the General Synod of the Church of England. This role came with his appointment as Principal Anglican Chaplain and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy.

Wheatley retired from the Royal Navy on 16 November 2018.

Later life Wheatley has been retired from full time ministry since 2018.

Honours On 29 April 2003, Wheatley was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Northern Ireland during the period 1 April 2002 to 30 September 2002". In the 2017 New Year Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He is a recipient of the General Service Medal with Northern Ireland clasp, the Operational Service Medal for Sierra Leone, the Iraq Medal, and the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan.

On 9 February 2014, he was appointed an honorary canon of Portsmouth Cathedral.