Robert Walmsley

Vice Admiral Sir Robert Walmsley, KCB, FREng, FRSA, FIET (born 1 February 1941) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Navy who served as Chief of Defence Procurement at the UK Ministry of Defence from 1996 to 2003.

For the Scottish anatomist, see Robert Walmsley (anatomist).

Sir Robert Walmsley
Born (1941-02-01) 1 February 1941
Aberdeen, Scotland
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1958–1996
RankVice Admiral
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
RelationsRobert Walmsley (father)

Early career

Robert Walmsley was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 1 February 1941, a son of the anatomist Robert Walmsley and Dr Isabel Mary Walmsley.[1] He was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh.[1][2] He joined the Royal Navy as a Dartmouth Cadet in 1958,[3] and went on to read Mechanical Sciences at Queens' College, Cambridge,[4] before taking up a range of seagoing appointments, mainly in submarines, developing an expertise in nuclear propulsion. During his naval career he was at times Chairman of the Naval Nuclear Technical Safety Panel and Director General, Submarines. For three years, he was the Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff for Communications, Command, Control and Information Systems. His final naval appointment (in 1994) was as Controller of the Navy[2] and member of the Navy Board as a vice admiral. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1995.

Walmsley is a former Cambridge Blue, having coxed the light blue boat to victory in the 108th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 1962.[3] He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering,[5] the Royal Society of Arts, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and is an Honorary DSc of Cranfield University.[6]

Chief of Defence Procurement
Walmsley (2nd from right) at The Pentagon in 2001

After retiring from the navy, Walmsley held the position of Chief of Defence Procurement at the UK Ministry of Defence from 1996[7] until his retirement on 30 April 2003. He retired from the Her Majesty's Civil Service after serving longer in the Defence Procurement post than any of his predecessors. During Walmsley's period in post he led the transformation of the procurement organisation into the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA, now Defence Equipment and Support) and made numerous appearances as a witness to Parliamentary select committees.[8]

Personal life

In 1967, he married Christina, they had one son and two daughters, and divorced in 2009.[1] In 2010, he married Alexandra Ashbourne.[1]

HMS Sutherland was launched by Christina, Lady Walmsley, at that time the wife of Sir Robert, in 1996.[9] This launch made naval history since Lady Walmsley broke with tradition and used a bottle of Macallan Whisky; up until this time Royal Navy ships had always been launched with a bottle of champagne.

Walmsley's daughter, Emma, is the chief executive of the global pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smithkline.

Corporate roles

References
  1. "Walmsley, Sir Robert". ukwhoswho. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  2. Distinguished Pupils Fettes College
  3. "The men who found fame after the Boat Race", The Daily Telegraph, 22 March 2002.
  4. Eminent alumni Queens' College, Cambridge
  5. "List of Fellows".
  6. Honorary Graduates Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Cranfield University
  7. "Robert Walmsley appointed Chief of Defence Procurement", PR Newswire on behalf of Ministry of Defence, 24 April 1996.
  8. Select Committees, Session 1998–99 Parliament
  9. HMS Sutherland Royal Navy website
  10. Welcome Major Projects Association
  11. Management Cohort plc
  12. Sir Robert Walmsley: Biography Reuters
  13. Listed directors Ultra Electronics Holdings
  14. "Resources – Influence – Person – 368 – Robert Walmsley". CAAT. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Kenneth Eaton		 Controller of the Navy
1994–1996		 Succeeded by
Frederick Scourse
(Acting)
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