John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse

For the 1980s and 90s rugby league footballer, see John Fieldhouse (rugby league).

The Lord Fieldhouse

Born	(1928-02-12)12 February 1928 Leeds, England
Died	17 February 1992(1992-02-17) (aged 64) Southampton, Hampshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1941–1988
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	HMS Subtle HMS Acheron HMS Tiptoe HMS Walrus HMS Dreadnought HMS Diomede Commander-in-Chief Fleet First Sea Lord Chief of the Defence Staff
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 Royal Navy officer. He commanded five submarines and a frigate before achieving higher command in the Navy. Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine forces in April 1982, Fieldhouse was appointed Commander of the Task Force (designated Task Force 317), given responsibility for "Operation Corporate", the mission to recover the Falkland Islands. The campaign ended in the surrender of Argentine forces in June 1982. He became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in December 1982 and, in that role, persuaded the British Government to fund the replacement of ships lost in the Falklands War. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff in the mid-1980s.

Early life

Born the son of Sir Harold Fieldhouse, who had been secretary of the National Assistance Board, and Mabel Elaine Fieldhouse (née Elliott), Fieldhouse was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.^[1]

Naval career

Fieldhouse joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1944.^[2] He was promoted to midshipman on 1 September 1945 and posted to the cruiser HMS Norfolk in November 1945.^[2] Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 May 1947^[3] he joined the Submarine Service in 1948 and was posted to the submarine HMS Thule in March 1949.^[2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 October 1949 and subsequently served in the submarines HMS Astute, HMS Aeneas and then HMS Totem.^[2] He completed the Submarine Command Course in 1955.^[1]

The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes in which Fieldhouse served during the Aden Emergency

Fieldhouse took command of his first submarine, HMS Subtle in January 1956 and went on to command the submarine HMS Acheron in March 1956.^[2] Promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 October 1957, he took command of the submarine HMS Tiptoe in June 1958 and then joined the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.^[2] He went on to command the submarine HMS Walrus from January 1961 and was promoted to commander on 31 December 1961.^[2] In July 1964 he took command of HMS Dreadnought, the Royal Navy's first nuclear submarine.^[2] He attended the Joint Service Defence College in 1966,^[1] after which he became Second-in-Command of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes.^[2] With her, Fieldhouse was involved in the preparation for the British withdrawal from Aden during the Aden Emergency.^[1] Promoted to captain on 31 December 1967,^[4] he moved to Faslane Naval Base, Scotland to command the 10th Submarine Squadron of Resolution class submarines.^[1] From October 1970, he commanded HMS Diomede, a frigate, as part of his overall command of the 3rd Frigate Squadron.^[1]

In 1972, with his promotion to commodore, Fieldhouse took command of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic.^[2] He then moved to the Ministry of Defence, initially as Deputy Director of Naval Warfare and then, from November 1973, as Director of Naval Warfare.^[1] Promoted to rear admiral on 7 January 1975,^[5] he became Flag Officer Second Flotilla in December 1974 and then Flag Officer Submarines as well as NATO Commander Submarines Eastern Atlantic in November 1976.^[1] He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 April 1978^[6] and became Controller of the Navy in January 1979.^[2] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1980 New Year Honours.^[7]

Bust of Fieldhouse in the Falklands Gardens, Gosport

Argentine soldiers surrendering at the end of the Falklands War which Fieldhouse had directed from the Northwood Command Centre

Fieldhouse became Commander-in-Chief Fleet and NATO Commander-in-Chief, Channel and Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic in April 1981 and received promotion to full admiral on 23 July 1981.^[8] Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine forces in April 1982, Fieldhouse was appointed Commander of the Task Force (designated Task Force 317), given responsibility for "Operation Corporate", the mission to recover the Falkland Islands.^[9] He conducted the campaign, which ended in the surrender of Argentine forces in June 1982,^[10] from the Northwood Command Centre.^[8] He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1982 Birthday Honours^[11] and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire on 11 October 1982 "in recognition of service within the operations in the South Atlantic".^[12]

Fieldhouse became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on 1 December 1982:^[13] in that role he persuaded the British Government to fund the replacement of ships lost in the Falklands War.^[8] He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 2 August 1985 and became Chief of the Defence Staff later that month.^[8] He retired in December 1988.^[8]

Later life

Fieldhouse was made a life peer as Baron Fieldhouse, of Gosport in the County of Hampshire in 1990.^[14]^[15] In retirement he became a consultant to Vosper Thornycroft plc^[16] and his interests included sailing.^[1] In 1992 he had a major heart operation in Southampton General Hospital, subsequent to which he caught an infection and died there on 17 February 1992.^[17]

Family

In 1953 Fieldhouse married Margaret ('Midge') Cull; they had a son Mark and two daughters Amanda and Sarah.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fieldhouse". Telegraph. 18 February 1992. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Heathcote, p. 77.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 38461. p. 6077. 19 November 1948. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44493. p. 71. 29 December 1967. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46440. p. 13195. 24 December 1974. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47676. p. 12974. 30 October 1978. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48041. p. 1. 28 December 1979. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 Heathcote, p. 78.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49194. p. 16121. 13 December 1982. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49194. p. 16109. 13 December 1982. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49008. p. 2. 11 June 1982. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49134. p. 12856. 8 October 1982. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49203. p. 16685. 20 December 1982. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 51981. p. 1. 29 December 1989. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 52063. p. 2765. 1 March 1990. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ "Newsletter No. 8" (PDF). Royal Marines Association, Victoria – Australia. August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
↑ "Bitter letter that cut deep". The News Centre. Retrieved 26 August 2012.

Sources

Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Iwan Raikes	Flag Officer Submarines 1976–1978	Succeeded by Robert Squires
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

Chiefs of the Defence Staff

First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy

First Naval Lords (1828–1904)	Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr

First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas

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