Office of the Commandant General Royal Marines
Flag of the Commandant General
Incumbent
General Gwyn Jenkins
since 25 November 2022
Ministry of Defence
StyleGeneral
AbbreviationCGRM
Member ofAdmiralty Board
Navy Command
Reports toFleet Commander
NominatorSecretary of State for Defence
AppointerThe Monarch
On the advice of the Prime Minister, subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length1-4 years
Formation1825
First holderMajor-General Sir James Campbell
DeputyDeputy Commandant General Royal Marines
WebsiteAbout The Commandant General - Royal Marines

The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier.[1] This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.[2]

History

In 1760 three naval captains were appointed colonels of marines. However, these were naval officers and it meant that the furthest a marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that commandants of the three divisions (Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham) were appointed.[3] The first single professional head of the Royal Marine Forces was the Deputy Adjutant-General, a post which existed from 1825[4] until 1914 when the post was re-designated the Adjutant-General:[5][6] the post holder usually held the rank of full general.[7] Since 1943 the professional head of the Royal Marines has been the Commandant-General who held the rank of full general until 1977, the rank of lieutenant general until 1996, the rank of major general until April 2021, the rank of lieutenant general until November 2022, and the rank of full general since 2022.[8] Lieutenant General Robert Magowan was the first person to assume the role twice, serving between 2016 and 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.[9]

On 25 November 2022 the Royal Marines announced for the first time since 1977, that a full general would be taking over the role, that person being General Gwyn Jenkins.[10]

From 1825 until 1964 his headquarters office which changed location several times was known as the Royal Marine Office.[11][12]

Role

The appointment had been held concurrently with that of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces (COMUKAMPHIBFOR) since the creation of the Fleet Battle Staff in 2001. COMUKAMPHIBFOR was one of two deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (the other being Commander UK Maritime Forces (COMUKMARFOR), now Commander United Kingdom Strike Force,[13] with particular responsibility for amphibious and littoral warfare.[13] Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a combined joint task force and designed to support a single two star commander.[13] In April 2018, it was announced that the two separate deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (COMUKMARFOR and COMUKAMPHIBFOR) would be merged into a single, larger, maritime battle staff.[14]

In April 2021, the role passed to a more senior officer in a dual-hatted capacity, and the commandant general's role, as well as being the professional head of the Royal Marines, was identified as championing emerging concepts in amphibious warfare and maintaining critical ties with the US Marine Corps.[15]

General Officers Commanding

General Officers Commanding have included:[8]

Deputy Adjutant General Royal Marines

Adjutant General Royal Marines

Commandant General Royal Marines

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Term of office Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 General
Sir Thomas Hunton
(1885–1970)		 January 1943 1946 2–3 years –
2 General
Sir Dallas Brooks
(1896–1966)		 1946 May 1949 2–3 years –
3 General
Sir Leslie Hollis
(1897–1963)		 1949 1952 2–3 years –
4 General
Sir John Westall
(1901–1986)		 1952 1955 2–3 years –
5 General
Sir Campbell Hardy
(1906–1984)		 1955 1959 3–4 years –
6 General
Sir Ian Riches
(1908–1996)		 1959 1962 2–3 years –
7 General
Sir Malcolm Cartwright-Taylor
(1911–1969)		 1962 1965 2–3 years –
8 General
Sir Norman Tailyour
(1914–1979)		 1965 1968 2–3 years –
9 General
Sir Peter Hellings
(1916–1990)		 1968 1971 2–3 years –
10 General
Sir Ian Gourlay
(1920–2013)		 1971 9 June 1975 6–7 years –
11 General
Sir Peter Whiteley
(1920–2016)		 1975 1977 1–2 years –
12 Lieutenant General
Sir John Richards
(1927–2004)		 1977 1981 3–4 years –
13 Lieutenant General
Sir Steuart Pringle
(1928–2013)		 1981 1984 2–3 years –
14 Lieutenant General
Sir Michael Wilkins
(1933–1994)		 1984 1987 2–3 years –
15 Lieutenant General
Sir Martin Garrod
(1935–2009)		 1987 1990 2–3 years –
16 Lieutenant General
Sir Henry Beverley
(born 1935)		 1990 1994 3–4 years –
17 Lieutenant General
Sir Robin Ross
(born 1939)		 1994 1996 1–2 years –
18 Major General
David Pennefather
(born 1945)		 1996 1998 1–2 years –
19 Major General
Robert Fulton
(born 1948)		 1998 2001 2–3 years –
20 Major General
Robert Fry
(born 1951)		 2001 2002 0–1 years –
21 Major General
Tony Milton
(born 1949)		 May 2002 February 2004 1 year, 9 months –
22 Major General
David Wilson
(born 1949)		 February 2004 August 2004 6 months –
23 Major General
James Dutton
(born 1954)		 August 2004 June 2006 1 year, 10 months –
24 Major General
Garry Robison
(born 1958)		 June 2006 June 2009 3 years –
25 Major General
Andy Salmon
(born 1959)		 26 June 2009 February 2010 7 months –
26 Major General
Buster Howes
(born 1960)		 February 2010 December 2011 1 year, 10 months –
27 Major General
Ed Davis
(born 1963)		 December 2011 13 June 2014 2 years, 6 months [18][19]
28 Major General
Martin Smith
(born 1962)		 13 June 2014 4 June 2016 1 year, 11 months [19][20]
29 Major General
Robert Magowan
(born 1967)		 4 June 2016 19 January 2018 1 year, 7 months [20][21]
30 Major General
Charles Stickland
(born 1968)		 19 January 2018 14 June 2019 1 year, 4 months [21][22]
31 Major General
Matthew Holmes
(1967–2021)		 14 June 2019 30 April 2021 1 year, 10 months [22]
32 Lieutenant General
Robert Magowan
(born 1967)		 30 April 2021 25 November 2022 1 year, 6 months [23]
33 General
Gwyn Jenkins		 25 November 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 1 month [24][25]

List of Deputy Commandants General

The following have served as Deputy Commandant General:

  • –2013: Brigadier Bill Dunham
  • 2014–2017: Brigadier Richard Spencer
  • 2017–2020: Brigadier Haydn White
  • 2020–present: Brigadier Anthony R. Turner

References

  1. ↑ "Statement from Deputy Commandant General Royal Marines". Royal Navy. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  2. ↑ "Marine Corps Leadership". Marine Corps. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Nicolas, Paul Harris (1845). Historical Record of the Royal Marine Forces. Vol. 1. London: Thomas and William Boone.
  4. ↑ "Royal Marines historical time line". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "British Admiralty". Naval History. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Punch, or the London Charivari". 11 February 1914. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Navy List". Admiralty. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "New Head Royal Marines Takes Role". forces.net. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Royal Marines appoint new Commandant General". forces.net. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Royal Marine Office". The Navy List. London, England: John Murray. December 1827. p. 124.
  12. ↑ "Records of Royal Marines". nationalarchives.gov.uk. London, England: The National Archives. 1688–1983. Retrieved 3 January 2019. Division within ADM
  13. 1 2 3 "Fleet Battle Staff". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ↑ "Jane's – UK Amphibious Headquarters to Disappear in Merger". 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-24. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Chief of Marines and Navy at Loggerheads". The Daily Telegraph. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "No. 33983". The London Gazette. 3 October 1933. p. 6355.
  17. ↑ "No. 34329". The London Gazette. 6 October 1936. p. 6363.
  18. ↑ City brigadier will lead Royal Marines Archived 2011-12-09 at the Wayback Machine This is Plymouth, 5 November 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Commandant General Royal Marines Supersession". royalnavy.mod.uk. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  20. 1 2 "Supersession of the Commandant General Royal Marines (CGRM)". theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk. The Royal Marines Charity. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Supersession of the Commandant General Royal Marines (CGRM)". theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk. The Royal Marines Charity. 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Supersession of the Commandant General Royal Marines (CGRM)". theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk. The Royal Marines Charity. 14 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  23. ↑ "New Head Of Royal Marines Takes Up Role". Forces News. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  24. ↑ "Royal Marines appoint new Commandant General". forces.net. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "No. 63889". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 2022. p. 22839.
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