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The Lord Hill-Norton
8 February 1915 – 16 May 2004
Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Hill-Norton Crown Copyright
Place of birth	Surrey
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1929 - 1973
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Battles/wars	World War II, Suez Crisis, Cold War
Awards	GCB

Peter John Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton GCB (8 February 1915-16 May 2004) was an Admiral of the Fleet, former Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.

He was known as an outspoken advocate on the importance of sea power and a strong defence for Britain. Though a traditionalist by nature, he also believed in modernization, taking the brave decision to abolish the Royal Navy's traditional daily rum ration. In later years he took an interest in UFOs, which included writing about them and asking questions in Parliament^[1].

Hill-Norton was the son of a Royal Flying Corps pilot, but came from a naval family on his mother's side, and became a cadet at Dartmouth at the age of 14. He served through the Second World War as a gunnery officer and at the Admiralty and rose swiftly through the ranks, becoming a captain and naval attaché in 1952, then commanding HMS Decoy during the Suez Crisis in 1956. He was later given the prestigious command of HMS Ark Royal, before becoming a rear admiral in 1962. It was as Second Sea Lord in 1967 that he proposed the abolition of the rum ration. In 1970 and 1971 he was swiftly propelled into the posts of First Sea Lord and then Chief of the Defence Staff by the unexpected early retirement of Sir Michael LeFanu. In 1974 he became head of NATO's military committee, a post he held until his retirement in 1977.

He was made a life peer as Baron Hill-Norton, of South Nutfield in the County of Surrey in 1979, and took an active role at the House of Lords as a crossbencher. He was also coincidentally, a distant relative in the direct male line of Joshua Norton, self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States and all-round eccentric.

• Guardian obituary
• Independent obituary

• The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995, Heathcote T. A., Pen & Sword Ltd, 2002, ISBN 0 85052 835 6

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