Terence Lewin

First promoted to command his own ship in 1955, Lewin commanded the destroyer HMS Corunna, the Royal yacht, two frigates and an aircraft carrier before achieving higher command. He served as the 88th First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1970s, fighting to secure a decent wage for British servicemen, helping to win them a 32% pay rise. Lewin rose to become the 9th Chief of the Defence Staff in 1979 and held the office for three years, the first holder of that office to act directly as professional head of the British military, rather than just as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Lewin retired from the Royal Navy in October 1982, becoming Chairman of the Trustees of the National Maritime Museum and President of the Society for Nautical Research among other roles, also maintaining interest as a military historian. He died in 1999 at the age of 78. Born the son of Eric Lewin and Maggie Lewin (née Falconer) and educated at The Judd School in Tonbridge, where he was head prefect in 1938, Lewin joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939. He was initially posted to the training ship HMS Vindictive but when the Second World War broke out in September 1939 he transferred to the cruiser HMS Belfast and then two months later to the battleship HMS Valiant. In the Valiant he took part in the Norwegian Campaign in April and May 1940 and then in the attack on the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir in July 1940.