Admiral of the FleetSir Varyl Cargill Begg,GCB,DSO,DSC,KStJ (1 October 1908 – 13 July 1995) was aRoyal Navy officer. He fought in theSecond World War as gunnery officer on acruiser taking part in the North Atlantic convoys, theNorwegian campaign and the occupation of Iceland and then as gunnery officer on abattleship operating in theMediterranean Fleet during theBattle of Cape Matapan. After that he commanded adestroyer during theKorean War and was Commander-in-Chief ofFar East Command during theIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He wasFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1960s. In that role he vehemently opposed plans to introduce large newaircraft carriers and instead managed to persuade the British Government to develop the design for three small"through-deck cruisers".

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg GCB,DSO,DSC,KStJ
Rear Admiral Varyl Begg in 1957
Governor of Gibraltar
In office March 1969 – 3 October 1973
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Mayor	Joshua Hassan William Thompson Alfred J. Vasquez
Preceded by	Gerald Lathbury
Succeeded by	John Grandy
Personal details
Born	Varyl Cargill Begg (1908-10-01)1 October 1908 Kensington,London
Died	13 July 1995(1995-07-13) (aged 86)
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2) Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (Malaysia)
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Navy
Years of service	1926–1973
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth British Far East Command HMS Triumph HMS Cossack
Battles/wars	Second World War Norwegian campaign Suda Bay Korean War Battle of Inchon Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation

Born the son of Francis Cargill Begg and Muriel Clare Begg (née Robinson), Begg was educated at St Andrew's School, Eastbourne andMalvern College,^[1] before joining the navy as a special entrycadet in September 1926.^[2] Promoted tomidshipman on 1 September 1927, he was posted to thecruiserHMS Durban on theChina Station in October 1927 and then to thebattleshipHMS Marlborough in theAtlantic Fleet in April 1929.^[1] Promoted tosub-lieutenant on 1 November 1929^[3] and tolieutenant on 1 December 1930,^[4] he joined the cruiserHMS Shropshire in theMediterranean Fleet in April 1931 before training as a gunnery specialist at the shore establishmentHMS Excellent in 1934.^[1] After qualifying in gunnery, he was then made second gunnery officer of the battleshipHMS Nelson, flagship of theHome Fleet, in December 1934 before returning to HMSExcellent in 1936.^[1] He was appointed flotilla gunnery officer in the destroyerHMS Cossack in November 1937 and, having been promoted tolieutenant commander on 1 December 1938,^[5] he became gunnery officer of the 6-inch (152 mm) gun cruiserHMS Glasgow in June 1939.^[1]

It was on board theGlasgow that Begg first saw action in theSecond World War:Glasgow participated in North Atlantic convoys, theNorwegian campaign and the occupation of Iceland,^[1] before being badly damaged in a torpedo attack byItalian aircraft atSouda Bay inCrete in December 1940.^[2] In January 1941 he was appointed gunnery officer of the battleshipHMS Warspite in theMediterranean Fleet when it was flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, AdmiralSir Andrew Cunningham (soon to be First Sea Lord himself).^[2] Begg was in charge ofWarspite's main 15-inch (381 mm) guns during theBattle of Cape Matapan on the night of 28 March 1941.^[6] It was an engagement in which the shipsWarspite,Barham andValiant caught the Italian heavy cruisersFiume andZara by surprise, with their guns still trained fore and aft, and sank them both in a brutally short action of less than two minutes.^[7] A third heavy cruiser,Pola, and two Italian destroyers were also sunk in the engagement.^[7] Begg wasmentioned in despatches and awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for his part in the action.^[6] He was promoted tocommander on 31 December 1942 and then went to the gunnery division in theAdmiralty, where he remained until after the war.^[6]

After the war, Begg joined the cruiserHMS Phoebe as operations officer for the destroyers in the Mediterranean Fleet.^[6] Promoted tocaptain on 30 June 1947,^[8] he was given command of the gunnery school atChatham in 1948 and of the destroyerHMS Cossack as captain of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in August 1950.^[6]Cossack took part in theKorean War, being involved in the pre-invasion shelling and blockade ofInchon^[9] and Begg wasmentioned in despatches^[10] and appointed to theDistinguished Service Order on 3 October 1952.^[11]

Begg was given command of the shore establishmentHMS Excellent in April 1952 and officiated as the Officer Commanding the Naval Contingent at theCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.^[12] He went on to command theaircraft carrierHMS Triumph in December 1954.^[6] Having attended theImperial Defence College, he was appointed NavalAide-de-Camp tothe Queen on 7 July 1956.^[13] Promoted torear-admiral on 7 January 1957, he became Chief of Staff to theCommander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in February 1957^[6] and went on to be Flag Officer, Second-in-Command,Far East Fleet, in December 1958.^[6] AppointedCompanion of the Order of the Bath in the 1959New Year Honours^[14] and promoted tovice-admiral on 21 May 1960,^[15] he becameVice Chief of the Naval Staff in January 1961.^[6] He was advanced toKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1962New Year Honours.^[16] He was promoted to fulladmiral on 8 March 1963, on appointment as Commander-in-Chief ofFar East Command and British military adviser to theSouth East Asia Treaty Organization, at a time of when PresidentSukarno ofIndonesia was stepping up pressure onMalaysia.^[2] Advanced toKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1965Birthday Honours and appointed an honoraryCommander of the Malaysian Order of the Defender of the Realm,^[17][18] he went on to beCommander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in August 1965.^[6]

Begg was appointedFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, following the sudden resignation of his predecessor SirDavid Luce, in March 1966.^[19] Begg strongly believed that the future of the Navy depended as much onsurface-to-air missiles as on naval air power, and he vehemently opposed plans to introduce large new aircraft carriers.^[20] Instead he managed to persuade theBritish Government to design and develop three small"through-deck cruisers".^[2] He was promoted toAdmiral of the Fleet on his retirement on 12 August 1968.^[19] He became aKnight of the Order of St John in March 1969.^[21]

In March 1969 Begg was appointedGovernor of Gibraltar^[22] where a residential development is still named after him.^[23] He left Gibraltar in 1973 and retired to his home atStockbridge inHampshire.^[19] His interests included fishing, gardening and sports – during his naval career he had been President of the Combined Services Winter Sports Association and President of Royal Navy Cricket.^[2] He suffered fromAlzheimer's disease and died on 13 July 1995.^[19]

In 1943 he married Rosemary Cowan; they had two sons.^[6]

• Edwards, Paul (2010).Historical Dictionary of the Korean War. Scarecrow Press.ISBN 978-0810867734.
• Heathcote, Tony (2002).The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd.ISBN 0-85052-835-6.