Peter Hill-Norton


The Lord Hill-Norton

Hill-Norton in 1974
Born(1915-02-08)8 February 1915
Germiston, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Died16 May 2004(2004-05-16) (aged 89)
Studland Bay, Dorset, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1929–1977
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsChief of the Defence Staff
First Sea Lord
HMS Ark Royal
HMS Decoy
Battles / warsSecond World War
Suez Crisis
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
AwardsKnight 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.