Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Nicholas John Streynsham Hunt (7 November 1930 – 25 October 2013) was a senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. He was

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional h ...

from 1985 to 1987.

Early life

Hunt was born on 7 November 1930 in

Hawarden Hawarden (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home to Hawarden Castle (medieval), Hawarden Castle. In the 2011 United Kingdom census, ...

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, the younger son 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 ...

John Montgomerie Hunt of the 5th Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment,

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Walter Baldwyn Yates

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. The Hunt family were landed gentry, of Boreatton,

Baschurch Baschurch is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies in the north of Shropshire. The village had a population of 2,503 as of the 2011 census. Shrewsbury is to the south-east, Oswestry is to the north-west, and Wem is to the n ...

, Shropshire. A cousin was

Agnes Hunt Dame Agnes Gwendoline Hunt DBE RRC (31 December 1866 – 24 July 1948) was a British nurse, who is generally recognised as the first orthopaedic nurse. Early life She was born in London, daughter and sixth of eleven children of Rowland Hunt ...

, pioneer of

orthopaedic nursing Orthopaedic nursing (or orthopedic nursing) is a nursing specialty focused on the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Orthopaedic issues range from acute problems such as fractures or hospitalization for joint replacement to chr ...

Naval career

Hunt was educated at the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

. After graduating, he gained a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

in the

and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 31 July 1952. He served as Assistant Private Secretary to

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, ; 27 August 1968) was a Greek and Danish princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Gran ...

from 1959 to 1962. Promoted to lieutenant commander on 17 August 1960, he was posted to the Directorate of Naval Plans at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in 1966. Hunt became

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of HMS ''Ark Royal''Debrett's People of Today 1994 in 1969 and was then given command of the amphibious warfare ship HMS ''Intrepid'' in February 1974 before attending the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

later that year. He went on to be Director of Naval Plans at the

in August 1976 and captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in October 1978. Appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen on 7 July 1980 (which post he held until 7 January 1981), he became Flag Officer, Second Flotilla in October 1980. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 7 January 1981 and became

Director-General, Naval Manpower and Training The Naval Recruitment Training Agency (NRTA) originally called the Naval Training Department was first established in 1944 as a department within the British Admiralty, Admiralty it underwent numerous name changes until 1 April 1995 as a new age ...

in November 1981. Hunt was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 6 December 1983, on appointment as

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was based at HM Naval Base Clyde, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy's senior officer in Scotland. The post of FOSNI ...

, and to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 25 June 1985, on appointment as

and Allied Commander-in-Chief Channel and Eastern Atlantic. He retired from the Navy on 26 July 1987.

Later life

Hunt was Deputy Managing Director at

Eurotunnel Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom, operates the LeShuttle railway service, and earns reven ...

from 1987 to 1989 and Director-General of the Chamber of Shipping from 1991 to 1997. He also held part-time appointments including

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the South West Surrey District Health Authority from 1990 to 1995, Chairman of Nuffield Hospitals from 1996 to 2001, Commissioner of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

from 1988 to 1992 and

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former Royal Navy Dockyard, royal/naval dockyard at Chatham, Medway, Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km2) and was o ...

from 1998 to 2005. He also became

of Ferrero UK Ltd in 2005. Hunt was known to be a strong supporter of the

nuclear deterrent Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...

and was Chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889). He became Deputy Lieutenant to the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

on 23 January 1996. Hunt was appointed

Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom is a now honorary office generally held by a senior (possibly retired) Royal Navy admiral, though the current incumbent is a retired Royal Marine General. Despite the title, the Rear-Admiral of the United Ki ...

in 1994, holding that post until 1997 when he became

Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in the S ...

and

Lieutenant of the Admiralty The Lieutenant of the Admiralty is a now honorary office generally held by a senior retired Royal Navy admiral. He is the official deputy to the Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Sovereign on the nomination of the First ...

, positions that he held until 2001. He died at his home on 25 October 2013 at the age of 82.

Personal life

In 1966, he married Meriel Eve Givan, daughter of Major Henry C. Givan of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, formerly of

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. Together they had two sons (the elder of whom is the former Foreign Secretary and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer

Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...

) and one daughter. Lady Hunt died in 2022.

Awards and decorations

On 20 July 1961, Hunt was made a Member of the Fourth Class of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

. Members of this class were renamed Lieutenants in 1984 and henceforth used the post-nominals LVO. Hunt was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the

1985 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1985 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

. He was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

in the

1987 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

. Hunt was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1988.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Nicholas 1930 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Military personnel from Flintshire Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Deputy lieutenants of Surrey People from Hawarden Jeremy Hunt