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 ...

Sir Alan Michael Massey, KCB,

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 ...

(born 9 March 1953) is a former senior officer in the

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 ...

who served as the

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer currently to serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore estab ...

Early life and education

Massey was educated at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

and

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

Naval career

Massey trained as a seaman officer, specialising in above water warfare and as a fighter controller and navigator. His first posting was to in 1979. Massey's first command was in 1993, and he later saw service as captain of HMS ''Campbeltown'', HMS ''Illustrious'' during operations against the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

regime in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2001 and as captain of HMS ''Ark Royal'' when his ship led the amphibious assault into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in 2003.Sir Alan Massey
Ministry of Defence Staff tours included three appointments to the Ministry of Defence in London, serving in the NATO policy directorate, Defence Programmes and as assistant director of Navy Plans. He also served twice in NATO staff appointments: as military assistant to the chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels (1991–1992) and head of plans for the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia (1999–2001). As a commodore, he led the Operations Division of the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headqua ...

at Northwood and then went on to be Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in July 2005, with the rank of rear admiral on 5 July 2005. He assumed office as

in a ceremony aboard HMS ''Victory'' in July 2008.

Later life

Having left the Navy, Massey was appointed chief executive of the

Maritime and Coastguard Agency The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent mar ...

on 20 July 2010. During his time at the MCA, Massey was responsible for leading the MCA through a period of change, which included a reorganisation of

HM Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within th ...

and the UK's search and rescue helicopter capability. Massey's other responsibilities at the MCA included leading the UK's efforts to improve safety at sea. Massey stepped down as chief executive on 31 October 2018. Massey was appointed a non-executive director at Shoreham Port in January 2019.

Honours

On 31 October 2003, Massey was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services whilst on operations in Iraq during the period 19th March to 19th April 2003". He was appointed

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 ...

(KCB) in the 2009

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

References

, - 1953 births Living people Alumni of the University of Liverpool Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Her Majesty’s Coastguard personnel (United Kingdom) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War Royal Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) People educated at Northgate Grammar School, Ipswich {{UK-navy-bio-stub