Commandant General Royal Marines
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Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
. This position is not to be confused with
Captain General Royal Marines Captain General Royal Marines is the ceremonial head of the Royal Marines. The current Captain General is King Charles III. The uniform and insignia currently worn by the Captain General are those of a Field Marshal. This position is distinct ...
, 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 ...
of the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
.


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 city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
,
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
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 (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
. 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, the rank of major general until April 2021, the rank of lieutenant general until November 2022, and the rank of full general since 2022. Lieutenant General Robert Magowan was the first person to assume the role twice, serving between 2016 and 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022. On 25 November 2022 the Royal Marines announced that General
Gwyn Jenkins General (United Kingdom), General Sir Gwyn Jenkins is a senior Royal Marines officer serving as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff since 15 May 2025. He served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Vice-Chief of the ...
, then Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, would be concurrently appointed the new Commandant General Royal Marines, making him the first full general to occupy the role since 1977. 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, 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 (Royal Navy), Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, Order of the Bath, KB (baptism, bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands ...
1875–1878 *Major-General Sir Charles Adair 1878–1883 *General Sir
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 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 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 1920–1924 *General Sir Alexander Hutchison 1924–1927 *General Sir Lewis Halliday 1927–1930 *General Sir Richard Ford 1930–1933 *General Sir Richard Foster 1933–1936 *General Sir William Godfrey 1936–1939 *General Sir Alan Bourne 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) Military appointments of the Royal Marines