Sir Julian Oswald | |
|---|---|
 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Julian Oswald | |
| Born | (1933-08-11)11 August 1933 Newmore,Invergordon,Ross-shire |
| Died | 19 July 2011(2011-07-19) (aged 77) Shedfield,Hampshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1947–1993 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Britannia Royal Naval College HMS Newcastle HMS Bacchante |
| Battles / wars | Cold War Falklands War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral of the FleetSir John Julian Robertson OswaldGCB (11 August 1933 – 19 July 2011) was a seniorRoyal Navy officer. After training as a gunnery specialist, Oswald commanded a frigate and then a destroyer before achieving higher command in the navy. He served asFirst Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the early 1990s. In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under theOptions for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for theGulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of theWomen's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships.
Oswald was born to Captain George Hamilton Oswald, RN and his wife Margaret Elliott Oswald (née Robertson). The Oswalds were a landed gentry family of Cavens,Dumfries andAuchincruive (now named "Oswald Hall"),South Ayrshire,Scotland, descending from merchantGeorge Oswald,Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1797 to 1799,[1] Oswald was educated atBeaudesert Park School and theRoyal Naval College, Dartmouth.[2] He joined theRoyal Navy as acadet on 1 May 1947.[3] During his early career he served in thecruiserHMSDevonshire and was commissioned as amidshipman on 1 January 1952.[3] He then served in thebattleshipHMSVanguard and then thefrigateHMSVerulam.[3] Promoted tosub-lieutenant on 1 May 1953,[4] he was posted to theaircraft carrierHMS Theseus in February 1955.[3] Promoted tolieutenant on 1 June 1955,[5] he subsequently served in thecruiserHMSNewfoundland and then theminesweeperHMS Jewel.[3]
After qualifying in gunnery Oswald joined the aircraft carrierHMS Victorious in 1960.[3] He was given command of the minesweeperHMS Yarnton in April 1962 and was promoted tolieutenant commander on 1 June 1963.[6] After attending theRoyal Navy Staff College in 1964, he was posted to the shore establishmentHMSExcellent atPortsmouth as Air Weapons Officer in 1965.[7] HMSExcellent maintains the gun carriage used forstate funerals, and Oswald was the Funeral Gun Carriage Officer for the Funeral ofSir Winston Churchill on 30 January 1965.[8] He was posted to the frigateHMSNaiad in September 1966 and promoted tocommander on 31 December 1968[9] on his appointment to the Directorate of Naval Plans at theMinistry of Defence.[7]
Oswald was given command of the frigateHMSBacchante in January 1971 and then joined the staff of the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence in 1972.[7] Promoted tocaptain on 31 December 1973,[10] he attended theRoyal College of Defence Studies in 1976 before being given command of the destroyerHMSNewcastle in January 1977 and joining the Royal Navy Presentation Team in 1979.[7] He went on to be Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in June 1980.[7] He was appointedAide-de-Camp tothe Queen on 7 July 1982[11] and was promoted torear admiral on 2 September 1982[12] on his appointment as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Programmes).[7]
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Oswald became Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Policy and Nuclear) in January 1985[7] and went on to become Flag Officer, Third Flotilla and Commander, Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Fleet in October 1985.[7] Promoted tovice-admiral on 3 January 1986, he was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1987New Year Honours.[13] He was promoted to fulladmiral on 29 May 1987,[14] on appointment asCommander-in-Chief Fleet andNATO Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic.[7]
Advanced toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1989New Year Honours,[15] Oswald becameFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in May 1989.[7] In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under theOptions for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for theGulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of theWomen's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships.[7] He was promoted toAdmiral of the Fleet on his retirement in March 1993.[2][16]
In retirement Oswald became Chairman of Aerosystems International[2] and ofSema Group plc, an Information Technology business, until the latter was acquired in 2001.[17] He was also President of the Sea Cadet Association, vice-president of theRoyal United Services Institute and a Trustee of theNational Maritime Museum.[2] His interests included walking, stamp-collecting, family and fishing.[2] He died at his home atShedfield inHampshire on 19 July 2011.[18]
In 1958 he married Veronica Thompson; they had two sons and three daughters.[18] His nephew is the playwrightPeter Oswald.[19]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief Fleet 1987–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Sea Lord 1989–1993 | |
