Sir Peter Charles Abbott (12 February 1942 – 28 September 2015) was a

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 and Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Abbott was born on 12 February 1942. He was educated at

St. Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately ...

before going on to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

Military career

Abbott was commissioned into the

in 1964.Admiral Sir Peter Abbott
Debretts He commanded the minesweeper from 1972 to 1975 and then joined the staff of the Senior Naval Officer in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. He became commanding officer of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

in 1976, second-in-command of the aircraft carrier in 1980 and the Chief of Defence Staff's briefer during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

in 1982. He then became commanding officer of the frigate as well as captain of the 1st Frigate Squadron in 1983. He became Director of Navy Plans in 1985 and, having been 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 ...

, he was appointed Flag Officer, Second Flotilla in 1989. He was made Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1991 and, having been 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 ...

, was appointed Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in 1993. He became

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 ...

and, having been promoted 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 ...

in 1995, he became Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in 1997.

Later life

In retirement, Abbott was made

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 Trustees of the

Royal Naval Museum The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. T ...

. He was also President of MSSC, governing charity of the

Marine Society The Marine Society is a British charity, the world's first established for seafarers. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, and Saxony (and subsequently the Mughal Empire, Spain, Russia and Sweden) Britain urg ...

and the

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...

. He died of cancer on 28 September 2015.

Honours and decorations

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Peter 1942 births 2015 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War Officers of the Legion of Merit Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England 21st-century Royal Navy personnel Military personnel from New Delhi