William Staveley

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Doveton Minet Staveley (10 November 1928 – 13 October 1997) was a Royal Navy officer. Staveley saw service as a minesweeper commander on coastal patrol during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation before commanding a frigate and then an aircraft carrier and ultimately achieving higher command in the Navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the late 1980s. In that role he fought hard for a fleet large enough to meet NATO commitments.

Early life Born the son of Admiral Cecil Staveley and Margaret Adela (née Sturdee), Staveley was educated at West Downs School, Winchester and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He was a grandson of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Doveton Sturdee, a naval commander in the First World War. and then served in the cruisers HMS Nigeria and HMS Bermuda. he became Flag Lieutenant to the Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet in 1952, an instructor at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1954 and then served in HM Yacht Britannia from 1957. he was present at the hydrogen bomb tests on Kiritimati. on appointment as Assistant Director of Naval Plans at the Ministry of Defence on 31 December 1967. and became Flag Officer, Carriers & Amphibious Ships and NATO Commander, Carrier Striking Group Two in March 1977. he became Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in July 1980. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1981 Birthday Honours.

Staveley was promoted to full admiral on 29 October 1982 on appointment as Commander-in-Chief Fleet and NATO Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic. he became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff on 2 August 1985. In that role he fought hard for a fleet large enough to meet NATO commitments. He also became President of the Kent Branch of the Royal British Legion, vice-president of the Falkland Islands Association, a Member of the Court of the University of Kent and a governor of Sutton Valence School. He died of a heart attack at Sevenoaks in Kent on 13 October 1997.