The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

. This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

History

In 1760 three naval captains were appointed colonels of marines. However, these were naval officers and it meant that the furthest a marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that commandants of the three divisions (

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

and Chatham) were appointed. The first single professional head of the Royal Marine Forces was the Deputy Adjutant-General, a post which existed from 1825 until 1914 when the post was re-designated the Adjutant-General: the post holder usually held the rank of full

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

. Since 1943 the professional head of the Royal Marines has been the Commandant-General who held the rank of full general until 1977, the rank of lieutenant general until 1996 and the rank of major general until April 2021. On 30 April 2021 the Royal Marines announced for the first time since 1996, that a lieutenant general would be taking over the role, that person being Lieutenant General Robert Magowan. Magowan was also the first person to assume the role twice. From 1825 until 1964 his headquarters office which changed location several times was known as the Royal Marine Office.

Role

The appointment had been held concurrently with that of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces (COMUKAMPHIBFOR) since the creation of the Fleet Battle Staff in 2001. COMUKAMPHIBFOR was one of two deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (the other being Commander UK Maritime Forces (COMUKMARFOR), now

Commander United Kingdom Strike Force Commander United Kingdom Strike Force (COMUKSTRKFOR or CSF) and Rear Admiral Surface Ships (RASS) is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest seagoing command in the Royal Navy. Its role is to direct UK, Allied or Coalition mar ...

, with particular responsibility for amphibious and littoral warfare. Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a combined joint task force and designed to support a single two star commander. In April 2018, it was announced that the two separate deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (COMUKMARFOR and COMUKAMPHIBFOR) would be merged into a single, larger, maritime battle staff. In April 2021, the role passed to a more senior officer in a dual-hatted capacity, and the commandant general's role, as well as being the professional head of the Royal Marines, was identified as championing emerging concepts in amphibious warfare and maintaining critical ties with the US Marine Corps.

General Officers Commanding

General Officers Commanding have included:

Deputy Adjutant General Royal Marines

*Major-General Sir James Campbell 1825–1831 *Major-General Sir John Savage 1831–1836 *Lieutenant-General Sir John Owen 1836–1854 *Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Wesley 1854–1862 *General Sir George Langley 1862–1867 *General Samuel Lowder 1867–1872 *General Sir George Schomberg 1872–1875 *Lieutenant General

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at th ...

1875–1878 *Major-General Sir Charles Adair 1878–1883 *General Sir

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

1883–1888 *General Sir Howard Jones 1888–1893 *General Sir

Henry Tuson General Sir Henry Brasnell Tuson (30 April 1836 – 21 December 1916) was a Royal Marines officer who served as Deputy Adjutant-General Royal Marines. Military career Educated at Christ's Hospital, Tuson was commissioned into the Royal Marine ...

1893–1900 *Lieutenant-General John Morris 1900–1902 *Lieutenant-General Sir William Wright 1902–1907 *General Sir William Adair 1907–1911 *General Sir William Nicholls 1911–1914

Adjutant General Royal Marines

*General Sir William Nicholls 1914–1916 *Major-General Sir David Mercer 1916–1920 *Major-General Gunning Campbell July 1920–November 1920 *General Sir

Herbert Blumberg General Sir Herbert Edward Blumberg, (20 March 1869 – 16 August 1934) was a Royal Marines officer who served as Adjutant-General Royal Marines. Military career Blumberg was commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry on 1 February 188 ...

1920–1924 *General Sir Alexander Hutchison 1924–1927 *General Sir

Lewis Halliday General Sir Lewis Stratford Tollemache Halliday, (14 May 1870 – 9 March 1966) was an English Royal Marine officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British an ...

1927–1930 *General Sir Richard Ford 1930–1933 *General Sir Richard Foster 1933–1936 *General Sir William Godfrey 1936–1939 *General Sir

Alan Bourne General Sir Alan George Barwys Bourne, (25 July 1882 – 24 June 1967) was a senior officer in the Royal Marines. Early life and family Alan George Barwys Bourne was born on 25 July 1882, the son of Rev. Charles William Bourne (1846–1927), a ...

1939-1943

Commandant General Royal Marines

List of Deputy Commandants General

The following have served as Deputy Commandant General: * –2013: Brigadier Bill Dunham * 2014–2017: Brigadier Richard Spencer * 2017–2020: Brigadier Haydn White * 2020–present: Brigadier Anthony R. Turner

References

{{Navy Department (Ministry of Defence) Royal Marines Military appointments of the Royal Marines