John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse

Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Fieldhouse
The then Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse (Crown Copyright)
Born	12 February 1928(1928-02-12) Leeds, England
Died	17 February 1992(1992-02-17) (aged 64)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1941 - 1988
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Acheron HMS Tiptoe HMS Walrus HMS Dreadnought HMS Diomede Fleet
Battles/wars	Aden Emergency Falklands War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire

Admiral of the Fleet John David Elliott Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse GCB, GBE (12 February 1928 – 17 February 1992) was a high ranking officer in the Royal Navy. He also served as the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the United Kingdom and thus the professional head of the British Armed Forces.

Early life

He was born 12 February 1928 in Yorkshire. His father, Sir Harold Fieldhouse, was secretary of the National Assistance Board.

Naval career

John Fieldhouse started his career at Britannia Royal Naval College in 1941. He joined the Submarine Service in 1948. In 1956 he took command of his first submarine, HMS Acheron. He went on to command the submarines HMS Tiptoe, HMS Walrus and, in 1946, HMS Dreadnought which was the Royal Navy's first nuclear submarine. In 1966 he attended the Joint Service Defence College. After completion of the course there, he became Second-in-Command of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. With her, Fieldhouse was involved in the British withdrawal from Aden during the Aden Emergency.

On 31 December 1967, he was promoted from Commander to Captain remaining in the Seaman specialisation of the Royal Navy. With this promotion, he moved to Faslane Naval Base, Scotland to command the 10th Submarine Squadron of ''Resolution'' class submarine. In 1970, he commanded HMS Diomede, a Frigate, as part of his overall command of the 3rd Frigate Squadron.

In 1972, with his promotion to Commodore, he took command of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic. He moved to the Ministry of Defence in 1973 were he became the Deputy Director of Naval Warfare, later filling the role of Director. He became Flag Officer Second Flotilla in 1974 and was promoted to Rear Admiral on 7 January 1975. He was made Flag Officer Submarines in 1976 as well as being Nato Commander Submarines Eastern Atlantic. He was appointed Controller of the Navy in 1979 and Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 1981.

As Commander in Chief Fleet, he was the Commander of the Task Force (designated Task Force 317), given responsibility for "Operation Corporate", the mission to recover the Falkland Islands. His military despatch detailing his involvement in the conflict can be found here. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff from 1982 to 1985 and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1985 to 1988.

Later life

He retired in 1988 and was made a life peer as Baron Fieldhouse, of Gosport in the County of Hampshire in 1990. In retirement he became a consultant to Vosper Thornycroft plc. In 1992 he had a major heart operation in Southampton General Hospital, subsequent to which he caught an infection and died at the age of 64.

Honours and awards

Fieldhouse was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire on the 11 October 1982 "in recognition of service within the operations in the South Atlantic".

In popular culture

Fieldhouse was portrayed by Tom Chadbon in the 2002 BBC production of Ian Curteis's controversial The Falklands Play.

Further reading

• The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995, Heathcote T. A., Pen & Sword Ltd, 2002, ISBN 0 85052 835 6

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Richard Clayton	Controller of the Navy 1979–1981	Succeeded by Sir Lindsay Bryson
Preceded by Sir James Eberle	Commander-in-Chief Fleet 1981–1982	Succeeded by Sir William Staveley
Preceded by Sir Henry Leach	First Sea Lord 1982–1985	Succeeded by Sir William Staveley
Preceded by Sir Edwin Bramall	Chief of the Defence Staff 1985–1988	Succeeded by Sir David Craig