Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Sir (Anthony) Peter Woodhead KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (born 30 July 1939) is a former Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 officer who became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia...

.

Naval career

Educated at Leeds Grammar School

Leeds Grammar School

Leeds Grammar School was an independent school in Leeds established in 1552. In August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically united in September 2008....

 and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...

, Woodhead joined the Royal Navy in 1962. He served in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in the 1960s and was given command of the frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

s HMS Jupiter

HMS Jupiter (F60)

HMS Jupiter was a Batch 3 Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology...

 in 1974 and HMS Rhyl

HMS Rhyl (F129)

HMS Rhyl was a Rothesay or Type 12I class anti-submarine frigate of the British Royal Navy....

 in 1975. He was appointed Director of Naval Operations in 1985, Commander of the aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious (R06)

HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...

 in 1986 and Flag Officer 2nd Flotilla in 1988. He went on to be Flag Officer 1st Flotilla in 1989 and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia...

 in 1991 before retiring in 1994.

In retirement he became Prisons Ombudsman

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales is an independent body appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice to investigate complaints from prisoners and those subject to probation supervision, or those upon whom reports have been written...

.