Peter Hill-Norton

The Lord Hill-Norton
Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Hill-Norton
Born	(1915-02-08)8 February 1915 Germiston, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Died	16 May 2004(2004-05-16) (aged 89) Studland Bay, Dorset, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1929–1977
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff First Sea Lord HMS Ark Royal HMS Decoy
Battles/wars	Second World War Suez Crisis Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Peter John Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton, GCB (8 February 1915 – 16 May 2004) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating on the Western Approaches and in the North Sea taking part in the Norwegian Campaign, then in a cruiser taking part in the Arctic convoys and finally in a battleship operating in the Eastern Fleet. After the War he commanded a destroyer and then an aircraft carrier. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff and then Chief of the Defence Staff in early 1970s. In the latter role he gave the final commitment to Project Chevaline, the Polaris missile improvement programme. He went on to be Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.

Born the son of Captain Martin John Norton RFC and Margery Birnie Norton (née Hill), Peter John Norton (he changed his surname to Hill-Norton in 1931) was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1928 and, having been promoted to midshipman on 1 May 1932, was posted to the cruiser HMS London later that year. He transferred to the battleship HMS Rodney in September 1934 and, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1935, he was posted to the battleship HMS Ramillies in August 1936. Promoted to lieutenant on 1 October 1936, he attended the gunnery course at the shore establishment HMS Excellent in 1939.