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. 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.

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. The first single professional head of the Royal Marine Forces was the Deputy Adjutant-General, a post which existed from 1825 until 1914 when the post was re-designated the Adjutant-General: the post holder usually held the rank of full general. 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. Lieutenant General Robert Magowan was the first person to assume the role twice, serving between 2016 and 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.

On 25 November 2022 the Royal Marines announced that General Gwyn Jenkins, then Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, would be concurrently appointed the new Commandant General Royal Marines, making him the first full general to occupy the role since 1977.

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

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, with particular responsibility for amphibious and littoral warfare. Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a combined joint task force and designed to support a single two star commander. 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.

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.

General Officers Commanding General Officers Commanding have included:

Deputy Adjutant General Royal Marines Major-General Sir James Campbell 1825–1831 Major-General Sir John Savage 1831–1836 Lieutenant-General Sir John Owen 1836–1854 Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Wesley 1854–1862 General Sir George Langley 1862–1867 General Samuel Lowder 1867–1872 General Sir George Schomberg 1872–1875 Lieutenant General George Rodney 1875–1878 Major-General Sir Charles Adair 1878–1883 General Sir John Williams 1883–1888 General Sir Howard Jones 1888–1893 General Sir Henry Tuson 1893–1900 Lieutenant-General John Morris 1900–1902 Lieutenant-General Sir William Wright 1902–1907 General Sir William Adair 1907–1911 General Sir William Nicholls 1911–1914

Adjutant General Royal Marines General Sir William Nicholls 1914–1916 Major-General Sir David Mercer 1916–1920 Major-General Gunning Campbell July 1920 – November 1920 General Sir Herbert Blumberg 1920–1924 General Sir Alexander Hutchison 1924–1927 General Sir Lewis Halliday 1927–1930 General Sir Richard Ford 1930–1933 General Sir Richard Foster 1933–1936 General Sir William Godfrey 1936–1939 General Sir Alan Bourne 1939–1943

Commandant General Royal Marines Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 GeneralSir Thomas Hunton January 1943 1946 years – 2 GeneralSir Dallas Brooks 1946 May 1949 years – 3 GeneralSir Leslie Hollis 1949 1952 years – 4 GeneralSir John Westall 1952 1955 years – 5 GeneralSir Campbell Hardy 1955 1959 years – 6 GeneralSir Ian Riches 1959 1962 years – 7 GeneralSir Malcolm Cartwright-Taylor 1962 1965 years – 8 GeneralSir Norman Tailyour 1965 1968 years – 9 GeneralSir Peter Hellings 1968 1971 years – 10 GeneralSir Ian Gourlay 1971 9 June 1975 years – 11 GeneralSir Peter Whiteley 1975 1977 years – 12 Lieutenant GeneralSir John Richards 1977 1981 years – 13 Lieutenant GeneralSir Steuart Pringle 1981 1984 years – 14 Lieutenant GeneralSir Michael Wilkins 1984 1987 years – 15 Lieutenant GeneralSir Martin Garrod 1987 1990 years – 16 Lieutenant GeneralSir Henry Beverley 1990 1994 years – 17 Lieutenant GeneralSir Robin Ross 1994 1996 years – 18 Major GeneralDavid Pennefather 1996 1998 years – 19 Major GeneralRobert Fulton 1998 2001 years – 20 Major GeneralRobert Fry 2001 2002 years – 21 Major General Anthony Milton May 2002 February 2004 – 22 Major GeneralDavid Wilson February 2004 August 2004 – 23 Major GeneralJames Dutton August 2004 June 2006 – 24 Major GeneralGarry Robison June 2006 June 2009 – 25 Major GeneralAndrew Salmon 26 June 2009 February 2010 – 26 Major General Francis Howes February 2010 December 2011 – 27 Major GeneralEdward Davis December 2011 13 June 2014 City brigadier will lead Royal Marines This is Plymouth, 5 November 2011. 28 Major GeneralMartin Smith 13 June 2014 4 June 2016 29 Major GeneralRobert Magowan 4 June 2016 19 January 2018 30 Major GeneralCharles Stickland 19 January 2018 14 June 2019 31 Major GeneralMatthew Holmes 14 June 2019 30 April 2021 32 Lieutenant GeneralRobert Magowan 30 April 2021 25 November 2022 33 GeneralSir Gwyn Jenkins 25 November 2022 Incumbent

List of Deputy Commandants General

The following have served as Deputy Commandant General:

2011–2013: Brigadier Bill Dunham 2014–2017: Brigadier Richard Spencer 2017–2020: Brigadier Haydn White 2020–2022: Brigadier Anthony R. Turner 2022-2025: Brigadier Neil Sutherland MBE 2025-Present: Major General Paul Maynard OBE

References