Julian Oswald


Sir Julian Oswald
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Julian Oswald
Born(1933-08-11)11 August 1933
Newmore, Invergordon, Ross-shire
Died19 July 2011(2011-07-19) (aged 77)
Shedfield, Hampshire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1947–1993
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
Commands heldFirst Sea Lord
Commander-in-Chief
Britannia Royal Naval College
HMS Newcastle
HMS Bacchante
Battles/warsCold War
Falklands War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald GCB (11 August 1933 – 19 July 2011) was a senior Royal Navy officer. After training as a gunnery specialist, Oswald commanded a frigate and then a destroyer before achieving higher command in the navy. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in the early 1990s. In that capacity he advised the British Government on the reduction in the size of the fleet under the Options for Change restructuring programme and on the deployment of Naval Support for the Gulf War in 1991: he also made the decision that members of the Women's Royal Naval Service should be allowed to serve in Royal Navy ships.