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 William Thomas Pillar, (24 February 1924 – 18 March 1999) 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 who served as Chief of Naval Support and a member of the Admiralty.

Naval career

Educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

and latterly at the

Royal Naval Engineering College The Royal Naval Engineering College was a specialist establishment for the training of Royal Navy engineers. It was founded as Keyham College in 1880, new buildings were opened in Manadon, Devon in 1940 and the old college site at Keyham close ...

, Pillar joined the

as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in 1942 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Obituary: Admiral Sir William Pillar
''The Independent'', 13 April 1999 He was promoted to sub-lieutenant (Engineering Branch) on 1 June 1944. An acting

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 ...

at the war's end, he was promoted to substantive lieutenant (E) on 3 June 1947 (seniority 1 October 1945). Following service in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

he was promoted to lieutenant-commander (E) on 1 October 1953, to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

(E) on 31 December 1958 and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(E) on 31 December 1966. Pillar was appointed Assistant to the Director-General, Ships in 1970 and Commander of the

in 1973. Attaining flag rank as a

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 1976, he was made Port Admiral at

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

and then Assistant Chief of Fleet Support. 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 2 April 1979, he became the first

engineer officer to be Chief of Fleet Support. He 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 ...

(KCB) in the 1980 Birthday Honours, and was 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 ...

on 5 January 1982. In 1982, he became Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies. Appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1983 Birthday Honours, he retired on 6 March 1984. On retirement from the Royal Navy Pillar became Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Jersey. He was also

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and later Life Vice-Commodore of the Royal Navy Sailing Association,Obituary: Admiral Sir William Pillar
The Times, 6 April 1999 a member of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

, President of the Royal Navy Modern Pentathlon Association and a Knight of St. John.

Family

In 1946 Pillar married Ursula Ransley; they had three sons and a daughter.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillar, William 1924 births 1999 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Royal Navy admirals Lords of the Admiralty Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Governors of Jersey Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War