Admiral of the Fleet Sir Ben Bathurst Obituary

By Peter Hore

Message from the Editor

Admiral of the Fleet Sir ‘Ben’ Bathurst, who has died aged 89, held flag rank in the Royal Navy for 12 critical years at the end of the Cold War, became Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and then First Sea Lord. This obituary by Peter Hore appeared first in the Daily Telegraph on 13 October 2025.

Ben Bathurst was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1983 when he became Flag Officer, Second Flotilla, one of the Navy’s key seagoing commands, generally regarded as a prerequisite for high command. His first challenge came in the West Indies where he monitored but was unable to prevent the US invasion of Grenada. Next, he was Director-General, Naval Manpower and Training at the Ministry of Defence in 1985 where his task was to align manpower to the Defence budget. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1986 and appointed as Chief of Fleet Support during which he oversaw improvements in the cost control…

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